The Baroness's Fight
by jumbochamploonrules
Summary: Sasha was a regular girl for a long time before she met Baron Praxis. She loved and cared for him until, one day, she learned of the Dark Warrior Program. So filled with anger, she told him to put her in the program with the most durable member of the testing thus far, a blonde hero with big muscles. Once she busts out, she'll need all the power she can get to save the world.
1. Prologue

**This fanfic is based on Jak 2 and 3.  
****It will be told by the POV of Jak and my OC, Sasha Praxis. Sasha will be the POV in the odd numbered chapters and Jak in the even numbered ones.  
****This fanfic will contain a bunch of adult stuff. M rating. Now let's get on with this fic!**

* * *

**Chapter 1:**

"Baron, you need to stop this madness!" I said to Praxis after he had told me of something that I never wanted to believe was true. He had taken me to the prison for the first time since he had started work on the secret program he had mentioned. And when he showed me the results... I nearly lost my lunch. He was injecting innocent people with dark eco with a horrid chair that injected them painfully and without mercy! And most of the different members of the testing were so far into insanity that they had to be put down after one chair treatment each... all except one, a man that had blonde-green hair, very sharp eyes, and looked to be the most bulky of the bunch.

"What are you talking of, Sasha, my dear?" Praxis asked me as I looked at the prison rooms from the cameras.

"I am talking about this torture you're doing to innocent people! What is the purpose of killing all of these prisoners through this kind of torture?! It's monstrous!" I exclaimed at him angrily, Praxis simply walked over to me and smiled at me.

"Now, hon, I married you for your support, not for you to question my authority. Either you learn your place, or I'll send you to share a cell with that Dark Eco freak," Baron said, me gasping and snarling angrily. I had a secret weapon on me that could protect me from that horrid contraption as I had my blood injected with Light Eco long ago, long before I even married Praxis... though I wasn't his first wife, I was definitely the youngest at age 23 and I knew to be wary around him. But this time, I knew I had to step in and be brave.

"You know what, asshole?! Go ahead and make me share a cell with him! I'd rather be pumped full of Dark Eco than be a wife to a monster like you!" I exclaimed at him. All of my life I had been living a lie and only now did I realize how awful Praxis was.

"Very well," Praxis smiled as he grabbed my arms and placed cuffs on them, leading me through the fortress and into the cells that held the different prisoners. It was here that I saw some of the other experiments and failed mutants. Some were just prisoners that would never be put up for testing because they were 'freaks' when in reality they just had body differences to a normal human. In fact, the one that I was going to, the cell of 34-15D, was not only the cell I would share with the blonde and resilient man, but it also had a window to the cell next door that held a duo of girls that I always tried to be nice to when Praxis wasn't looking. Two heads, one body. Their names were Minnie and Sammie, both of them very nice but still upset at how they were arrested just for being a miracle of the Precursors.

"Enjoy your new cellmate, freak! I'm sure you'll treat my ex-wife ruthlessly," Baron smiled at the blonde man, pushing me, his former wife onto the cold ground after opening the cell door, him closing it up when I was fully inside of the prison cell.

"You won't get out of this alive, Baron. The moment we have our chance, we will destroy you for all of these lives you've killed!" I growled at him as I grabbed my hands onto the bars and shook them rigorously, nothing happening on the other side as I felt a hand touch me from behind.

"Who... are you?" the man asked, his voice sounding very gruff and almost angry.

"I'm Sasha... I used to be that madman's wife... but when I found out what he does to the prisoners in this place... and that you've been here for a whole year being injected with a torture device... I finally put my foot down. When we find the right moment, no matter how long it takes, we bust out of this place. I'm going to be put up for testing just like you, but with my Light Eco infusion in my body, he'll have quite the difficult time getting me to die," I said with a growl. "And what's your name?" I asked him.

The man sighed and sat on his small bed, me seeing that there were two in there as well as a toilet. The toilet looked a bit dirty, but at least he had butt paper. "Jak... My name... Jak," he said with a sigh.

"You don't talk much, do you?" I asked with a small smile as I sat next to him on the bed.

"No... not really..." he admitted.

"Do you know sign language?" I asked. Jak smiled and nodded his head.

"Why don't you tell me about yourself by signing?" I smiled, wanting to learn anything I could about my only real ally in this hellhole fortress.


	2. Jak's New Cellmate

**Chapter 2**

When I got a new cellmate in this strange woman named Sasha, I was a bit angry that she was Praxis's wife, but the fact that she willingly wanted to join me after learning about my treatments? That took some serious gall to do, but she said she injected herself with Light Eco in the past. I knew that would protect her from getting turned insane much like how I haven't gone insane from the fact that I had channeled Light Eco before... but I had a large portion in me and she only had a single injection... but I still had to get my story off my chest to her. I was slowly being able to talk as I signed her about my past and all of my adventures. My friends in Sandover, and my adventures to defeat Gol and Maia... but most importantly, how the hell I ended up in this disgusting world.

"Wow... so you come here from a different world that had much more Eco and much more kind people... no ruler and you defeated someone who was trying to destroy the world with Dark Eco... that's truly heroic... but who was your friend... Daxter you said, right? How can he talk if he's an Ottsel?" Sasha asked me.

"He can talk because he used to be a human like us... but he fell into a pool of Dark Eco and popped out as an Ottsel with his goggles being the only piece of clothes that remained... he misses pants so much," I smiled as I remembered Daxter... I had to wonder where he was right now.

"Are they back in your world?" Sasha asked. I sighed and looked away, sighing as I then told her the next part.

"Well... we found a giant Rift Ring and a Rift Rider in Gol and Maia's Citadel and we moved it to Sandover before testing it out... but when I turned it on, the Rift Ring had tons of strange monsters fly out of it, them looking like giant black wasps with glowing foreheads. And then... a gigantic monster appeared from the portal. And being the idiot I was, I panicked and sent our group through the portal. It got destroyed on the way through and only Daxter was with me when we came out on the other side... Samos... Keira... where are you?" I sighed as I started to produce a few tears, especially when I thought of Keira.

But Sasha gasped when she heard that name. "Keira? Her last name wouldn't happen to be Hagai, would it?" Sasha asked, me immediately perking up when I heard her say that.

"Y-You've heard of her?" I asked, feeling a bit of hope in my soul when she said that.

"Yeah, I have! She's the one who practically reinvented the transportation system of Haven City with her Zoomer technology. And she makes special racing Zoomers at the Stadium! And she's also working on a prototype Jet Board!" Sasha said, me smiling as I hugged her in response, her looking a bit surprised before she melted into it.

"I thought she was gone for good... I'm so relieved she's okay..." I sobbed happily for the first time in forever.

"Wait... you have feelings for her?... Oh dear..." Sasha said as she stopped the hug and looked a bit worried.

"What is it?" I asked her, wondering why she would say that.

"Y-You may not like to hear me say this... but Commander Errol... he's been in a relationship with her for over a month now..." Sasha said, me gasping and my tears of joy turning into growls of anger and hate. I knew and hated Errol with a passion.

"Errol... he's the asshole that arrested me for absolutely no fucking reason! He just up and appeared the moment Dax and I appeared in the city and he said the Baron wanted me... and that he's been waiting for me... but I never even met the fucking asshole! And NOW he's stealing my girlfriend?!" I exclaimed as I saw something happen to my hands. My one hand grew extremely sharp claws that crackled with purple electricity, but just as quickly as it happened, it went away.

"By the Precursors... Baron... he's trying to turn you into a monster... please, try to hold in your anger, Jak... wait until we have the perfect opportunity to escape. Then we'll both get out of here together. After all, our cell is only a few feet away from that... horrible device," Sasha said to me with genuine concern. I could see it in her eyes. She was extremely worried as she touched her hand to my left cheek, me feeling a bit consoled by her touch... but then I heard the sound of feet approaching our cell... it was the guards.

"Peh, Sasha Praxis, arrested for committing treason against Baron Praxis. You're going to go to the chair first, then the freak will go next," said the voice of Errol as he opened the doors and Sasha frowned as she looked at Errol and, just as he got her in his arms, she started to speak.

"I never committed treason against Praxis. I willingly went to prison to show him I disagree with this horrid program. You're murdering innocent people that you just pluck off the street! That 'freak' you talk of? He was literally doing absolutely nothing and you fucking arrest him and steal his girlfriend!" Sasha growled angrily at Errol as I watched through the bars as she got strapped into the chair. I really wanted to look away, but for some reason, I wanted to see how she would deal with the painful process. I could barely breathe after being injected for one session, so how would she respond?

"Dark Warrior Injection Cycle Initiating," the computer said. I had to be put up for the testing once a week and it was the same for everyone, so Sasha would have to get used to it. And when she started getting injected, I couldn't watch anymore. She started screeching like she was giving birth while being beaten all over. I should know. It still felt like that every time. She actually started to cry after the five minutes were finished, hysterically.

"Oh shut up, bitch. I'm sure it doesn't hurt that bad," Errol snickered as I growled at him.

"It fucking does and you fucking know it," I growled at him from my cell.

"Well, well, the freak decides to talk for a change. Get up, bitch. It's the freak's turn," Errol said with a snicker, Sasha simply forcing Errol to drag her off the table and towards my cell. It was the same for me as well. I couldn't walk for a good two days after my first injection. She'd have to get used to it quickly. Errol then threw Sasha into the cell we now shared and he then looked at me. "Come on, freak," Errol sneered at me. I walked over to him and simply spit in his face before he could get the cuffs on me. Errol simply took it and then cuffed me. I expected him to smash my face for that, but he didn't.

"You deserve much worse than that, Errol" Sasha growled angrily as she stopped crying and tried to move. No dice.

"Shut up, bitch," Errol growled as he hooked me up to the chair. It would be the same as usual for who knew how long.


	3. Escaping Imprisonment

**Chapter 3**

It had been two years for Jak and a whole year for me. That was how long we had been put up in Dark Eco injections. And today was going to be eventful as it was Jak's final injection. I had already had my turn and I had already been taken back to my cell, watching in pain as Jak was getting finsihed with his final injection, the pain still as horrid as he and I remembered. I still remembered the horror of my first injection... it was the absolute worst pain I had ever felt in my entire life. I'd never given birth before, but I'd assumed it was twenty times worse than the pain of childbirth!

"Dark Eco Injection Cycle complete. Bio readings nominal and unchanged," the computer voice said as Baron Praxis and Errol were right by the chair and watching.

"Peh, nothing! And I was informed that this one might be different!" my former husband growled angrily, not even caring about the horrors he'd committed.

"I'm scared, Minnie..." I heard the voice of Sammie on the other side of the cell wall.

"I'm scared too, sis..." I heard Minnie say after that. They had so far avoided all interactions with the chair, but the Baron said that if Jak failed his final test, then they'd get their injections starting next week. I didn't want that at all.

"He is certainly very resistant to your experiments, my lord. I fear the Dark Warrior program has failed," Errol said.

"Bah! You should at least be dead with all the Dark Eco I've pumped into you!" Baron growled as he grabbed Jak's hair and raised his head up from the chair, me growling at that, but knowing I'd just get hurt if I said anything. Baron had never been abusive with me, but that all changed when I offered to be a prisoner.

"What now? The Metal Head armies are massing. Without a new weapon to stop them, my men cannot hold them off forever," Errol said grimly.

"I will not be remembered as the man who lost this city to those vile creatures! Move forward with the final plan! And finish off this... thing tonight," Baron said, my eyes going wide when he said that. He was going to kill Jak after injecting him for two years and after Errol had arrested him for no reason at all? I knew I had to do something, but I had to wait until he and Errol had left.

"As you wish... I'll be back later," Errol said to Jak coldly as he then walked off with Praxis and, the moment they were out of earshot, I was about to try and pry open my cell door with something I'd discovered I could do after my 10th session in the chair... but then I gasped audibly as a certain creature came to Jak's chair and started to talk.

"Ding ding, third floor! Rusty chains, roach food, torture devices! Hey buddy, you seen any heroes around?" said the voice of the strange creature that I recognized fully. It was just as Jak had described him. Short, furry, goggles only for clothes, long fat tail, and orange all over with a tan underbelly. It was Daxter! "Whoa! What'd they do to you? Jak! It's me! Daxter!" the little guy said as he tried to talk to Jak, but he was still recovering from the pain. "That's a fine hello! I've been crawling around this place, risking my tail, literally, to save you! I've been lookin' for ya for two years! Say something! Just this once!" Daxter said, growing increasingly worried until Jak exclaimed something out of pure rage.

"I'M GONNA KILL PRAXIS!" Jak exclaimed, Daxter covering his mouth as Jak then started to breathe in and out heavily as Daxter started to talk.

"Let me just figure out how to loosen the restraints on your wrists and..." Dax was about to say until Jak did something unexpected that was the same as me. His skin turned dark gray, he grew horns in his head, his hair turned even darker gray, his muscles grew exponentially, and he gained horrid claws on his person. And with just one swift motion, he snapped out of his restraints as he seemed to be looking quite upset.

"JAK! SNAP OUT OF IT!" I exclaimed at him, Jak gasping at my voice as he then calmed down and returned to normal, just as he was getting out of the chair.

"What the heck was that?! Sheesh! Remind me not to piss you off!" Daxter said as I then did the dirty and I sighed as I then transformed willingly, smashing my cell door open and then rushing to the next door cell and slashing it open through the locks, Minnie and Sammie gasping when they saw me.

"Come on! We need to get out of here and we had to do it yesterday!" I said to the girls as they gasped and followed Jak, Daxter, and myself out of the area just as soon as Jak put on some spare clothes Daxter provided him with.

"You have any clothes for us?" I asked the little otter thing.

"Why would I have girl clothes and clothes that have two neck holes?" Daxter asked us.

"Oh, thanks for the compliment, asshole," Sammie grumbled.

"Let's just get out of here and we'll worry about getting clothes later! Come on," Jak said as he led us to the left and we proceeded to jump up some stairs and exit the place just as the alarms started to go off.

We rushed through some of the prison areas that held some machinery, having to do some pretty daring and high jumps for some of them. I could do so if I was transformed, but I had to help Minnie and Sammie up some of them that were higher jumps. And then we got to an area that had some guards. Jak and I handled them with ease and then we had to go through a room with holes in the grates underneath us. And when we did, we had to move fast, as the guards were trying to shoot a hundred shots at us from below us! I actually got nicked by a bullet in the shoulder that I hissed at while Sammie and Minnie got a hit to Minnie's left ear, as it was on the left side and wide open. "Keep moving!" I exclaimed, Jak smashing a weak floorboard below us and our group sliding down a slick ventilation shaft until we entered a room filled with water runoff. It wasn't urine, but drinking water. I helped our group get out of the water and I gasped as we found an open window for us to leave from! We all made our way there and I helped Sammie and Minnie jump from it and land on the ground, no issues at all. We had done it! We escaped!

"We're free! Thanks to me," Daxter said smugly.

"Yeah... thanks, Dax. If it weren't for you helping Jak get freed, we'd be up for Dark Eco injections within a week," Minnie said with a smile.

"How do you know my name?" Daxter asked.

"Jak told us. We've been next-door cellmates for two years. But with Sasha, it's been one year... I still can't believe that Baron would arrest his own wife to be put through that horrid contraption," Sammie smiled as she hugged me with her arm, me smiling at that as I shed a tear, letting my transformation down before anyone could see us. We were in the slums, so we needed to find our way to some kind of place to house us.

"Okay, let's try to find someone to help us," I said as we went forward a bit and we came across a duo that approached us intently.

"Hello, strange ones. My name is Kor. May I help?" the old man said as Jak growled at him.

"You look like a reasonably smart man! I want information! Where the hell are we?!" Jak growled, not caring that the second of the duo was a child no older than 6.

"Sorry... he's a bit angry right now," I smiled at the kid as I memorized his and the old man's appearances. The kid was small and cute, having short green hair, wearing a white shirt, blue pants, having sandals on his feet, and the one thing about him that I knew was important was the amulet he wore. The symbol of the house of Mar, the original rulers of Haven City before Baron Praxis banished Damas Mar to the Wastelands... I wanted to know why he had done so, he never answered me.

As for the old man, he had the largest white beard I had ever seen, had a head adornment of yellow right on his forehead, tons of wrinkles, wearing a long blue robe, and he had a large staff on his person that he used to help him walk with his hunched back.

"Well, my angry young friend, you are a 'guest' of his 'majesty' Baron Praxis. Ruler of 'glorious' Haven City," Kor said grimly, using air quotes smartly.

"We were just guests in the good Baron's prison. Including myself and these two lovely ladies for stupid reasons or no reason at all!" I growled lowly.

"Damn right," Minnie frowned.

"Inside a cell or inside a city, walls surround us both. We are all his prisoners," Kor said angrily as I then noticed some red armored KG walking toward us.

"By order of his illustrious imminence, Baron Praxis, everyone in this sector is hereby under arrest for suspicion of harboring Underground fugitives! Surrender and die!" the KG member said before I growled at him and let out my claws.

"That gives you assholes the reason to kill us? No proof or anything?! This is worse than I thought. I never should've married that asshole of a ruler! Time to learn you some manners," I growled at them as I let out my claws on my hands and they gasped.

"B-Baroness? Baroness Sasha?!" asked one of the guards, me nodding my head before I rushed them, the guards running away shortly after I kicked one of them so hard he flew at least twenty feet!

"Very impressive," Kor smiled at me.

"Nothing... to it," I growled angrily as Jak looked upset as well.

"What you just did was very brave. This child is important," Kor said.

"This kid? He looks kinda scruffy," Dax said.

"I must get this boy to safety... but I know someone who can help your group. There is an Underground movement leading a fight against Baron Praxis. Its leader, the Shadow, could use people like you. Go to the slums south of here and find a dead-end alley near the city wall. Ask for Torn. He can help you," Kor said, me gasping when I heard that name.

"You know that name?" Sammie asked me.

"Know it? He quit the KG almost 3 years ago!... Now I know why," I smiled at that.

"Let's go. We don't have all day," Jak said.

"Agreed," I said back to him.


	4. Underground Entrance Exam

**Chapter 4**

We all decided to go to the Slums via Zoomers, me getting my own Zoomer while Sasha got in a double-seated one for her and the two-headed sisters in Minnie and Sammie. I still couldn't believe that we were finally free after all those years of torture and torment from Errol and Baron Praxis... we needed to find out how to stop him and, like Sasha said, we had to do it yesterday.

We eventually came upon the dead-end alley in question and we saw a duo of people standing in front of the area. One was a blonde girl with a green top that accentuated her breasts and short booty shorts and the other was a very gruff man with red hair, tons of piercings, and tattoos on his face.

"Torn? It's been awhile hasn't it?" Sasha smiled at Torn, him gawking when he recognized her.

"What the hell? Sasha Praxis?!... What are you doing on the streets in prison clothes?" the man named Torn asked, him having a very gravelly voice.

"I found out about the Dark Warrior Program from Praxis about a year ago... after witnessing it, I told him to arrest me to have me put in that torture device. It wouldn't affect me mentally because I had Light Eco injections when I was very young. And we just escaped today with some allies," Sasha smiled as she pointed to the twin-headed sisters and Daxter.

"I see... so what are you doing here? Obviously you're not here to arrest us, right?" Torn smiled.

"I'm no longer a Baroness, Torn. I'm just as lowly a citizen as a regular townie. Jak and I want to join the Underground movement to take the fight to Baron Praxis. Minnie and Sammie would like a place to house them and us girls would appreciate a change of clothes," Sasha said with a smile.

"Hehe, I can find a place to house your unique female friends, but the only clothes we have that would fit both their heads are men's wear," Torn smiled, me wondering why he was being so chummy with her but still gave me and Dax the death stare.

"Thanks so much! We'll never forget this, right Sam?" Minnie smiled at her sister while turning her head to look at her.

"Of course we won't, sis," Sammie smiled back as the girl in the blonde led them to a part of the wall that had graffiti and, after pushing a secret button, the wall slid to the side and revealed a hidden door behind it.

"As for you three, before you can join the Underground to do jobs, you'll need to prove your worth with a really tough task," Torn smiled as he pulled a large knife from his back and Dax looked scared by it. "Steal the banner at the top of the ruined tower in Dead Town and bring it back to me. Then, maybe we'll talk," Torn smirked as he threw the knife in the air and, after a few twirls, he caught it with zero issue.

"Impressive knife skills, Torn," Sasha smiled at him as we went to Sasha's double-seated Zoomer. Torn simply smiled at us as we proceeded to the area that Torn mentioned, Sasha leading our group to the door that would lead to Dead Town. It was a bit out of the way in another alleyway that had a security door on it.

"What's this?" I asked.

"It's a security door. It's a double-door system that allows people to traverse outside the city walls, but only if they're extremely tough or stupid. The outside world is filled with monsters, especially the Metal Heads," Sasha said to us as we went into the door and, once we did, the door on our side closed up tight while the one leading to Dead Town opened up. And when we went on the other side of it, the first things we saw were little green reptiles that Sasha said were called Glubs. We proceeded to defeat them and we made our way to the right, dealing with another enemy that had a nasty tongue that it lashed out with when I hit it once, Sasha killing it before he could hit me with it. "Those are Znorkle Tooth monsters. They love watery areas and they defend their territory aggressively with sharp teeth and a poisonous tongue," Sasha explained on our way to the tower itself.

"How long were you Praxis's wife, Sasha? You never really told me," I asked her on the way up the tower. She sighed and held up four fingers. "You were married to him for four years before you let him arrest you?"

"Yes, I did... but he almost never showed me any kind of kindness after year two. And then, during the final year, he showed me the horrid program he'd kept secret from me for so long... and when I saw what he was doing to you and to the unlucky prisoners that he injected before they went insane and he threw their bodies away... I put my foot down once and for all. I don't ever want to have the last name Praxis ever again," Sasha said with a tear in her eye.

"Well, what was your last name before you married him?" Daxter asked with a smile.

"It was Nell. Sasha Nell," Sasha smiled at that.

"That sounds like a much better last name, Nelly," I smiled at her, Sasha gasping and playfully punching my arm for that.

"You cheeky crocodog, you! No one's called me that in so long! Ah, that makes me happy... thank you," Sasha smiled at me with a giggle.

"You're welcome," I said to her as we finally came to the banner. I grabbed it and Dax and I were about to do a little victory dance like we usually did... but then the ground we were on started to fall out from under us!

"Serves you right for dancing instead of getting the job done," Sasha said as she jumped down after us and she grabbed onto myself and Dax as we were falling, her actually being strong enough to carry us even after jumping onto a tarp like a trampoline and then grinding on a metal cord before we all jumped down to see Torn by the entrance to the city. We then looked behind us when we heard crashing and I fist bumped Sasha when the whole tower came crashing down into a crumbled mess, Torn gawking at our work.

"Yeah. I guess you guys are in," he smiled at us.


	5. Pump This, Buddy!

**Chapter 5**

Once we returned with Torn, he led us to the insides of the Underground's base through the hidden door, me seeing Minnie and Sammie wearing an oversized shirt and loving it. "It's so nice to finally wear a shirt that fits both of us," Minnie smiled happily.

"Nice to see you girls having fun," I smiled at them while Daxter went for a nearby drinking pipe.

"Being a biiiig hero, sure makes ya thirsty," Dax smiled as he was going to get water from the pipe and Sammie gasped.

"Wait, don't!" Sammie exclaimed, but it was too late. Daxter got a face and mouth full of rusty, muddy water instead of actual good water.

"The Baron turned off all the water to the slums. He's willing to sacrifice innocent lives just to destroy the Underground," Torn said with a frown while I simply scrunched my nose at that.

"I never even know why I married that monster anymore... he's going to kill innocents just to defeat someone that opposes him... where do we turn the water back on at?" I asked Torn with seriousness.

"My friend in the guard told me that the valve to turn on the main water pump is outside the city walls, at the pumping station. Find a large drainage pipe in the watery area of the slums to find the security door. Get to it and open it. If you survive, the slums will be indebted to you... if not, maybe we'll having a touching moment of silence in your honor," Torn smiled.

"Oh, gee, thanks for letting me know how confidently you trust me, Torn," I frowned at him.

"Nothin' personal, it's just that you were never a fighter when we were working together," Torn smiled at me.

"You were a KG member?" Jak asked me.

"Before the Baron asked me to marry him, yes, I was. For two years before he made me Baroness... though it wasn't a cakewalk. I almost never got to fight physically, mainly because I was such a good shot with a gun," I smirked at him.

"You used guns before?" Dax asked me.

"Yes, I did. Any Metal Head that came in my line of sights immediately got destroyed by a few shots from my yellow eco-powered weapon," I bragged with confidence.

"Well, now that we have the same thing with us turning into combat beasts, maybe you can fend off the monsters with your bare hands for a change," Jak said, me sighing as I remembered that. He had to learn to control his dark side, but that would mean that he'd have to be calm when he turned, something that was hard even for me.

"Yeah, about that... about your feral side... even I don't know how you can control yourself when you get into that state. I want to help you learn to control when you get into your transformed state. It was hard for me just to learn to think straight when I used it when the guards weren't looking," I said to him as we came upon the pipe and went through the door.

"You know, I happened to hear about an Oracle in this area during my time looking for ya, Jak. Maybe we can pay it a visit after we're done with the valve job," Daxter smiled, me gasping at that.

"Of course! The Oracle! Why didn't I think of that? If what you told me from your past holds true, Jak, then the Oracle would be able to talk to you and may tell us how to control our Dark Eco powers," I gawked with a smile.

"It's a long-shot, but I'll take it," Jak smirked as we got on the other side of the pipe and we immediately were met with a few creatures that I growled at.

"Metal Heads. Kill them on sight, Jak. Otherwise, they'll kill us," I said to him as I turned into my feral form, which looked similar to Jak's, only my hair turned completely purple instead of its normal light blue hue. Jak and I proceeded to rush the Metal Heads and defeat them with a few well-placed punches and swipes to their faces with our fists and my claws respectively. But when I defeated one of them and grabbed a Skull Gem that popped out of it... I suddenly heard a booming voice echo in my head.

"Gather 25 Skull Gems from the dark creatures you call Metal Heads and we will help you learn to control your powers, male and female touched with darkness," the voice said, Jak gasping along with me.

"Did you hear that too?" I asked him.

"Yeah... the voice of a Precursor. How many Skull Gems do we have right now?" Jak asked.

"Well, I have three. You?" I asked him.

"Four. So we'll need eighteen more to get some help," Jak said.

"Yeah," I smirked as we got rid of more Metal Heads until we had a total of 12 Skull Gems in total before we came across the point of interest.

"Ah, the valve. Allow me," Daxter smirked smugly as he tried to pry the wheel and I smiled at how he struggled until Jak smacked the pipe, the wheel turning heavily afterwards and sending Daxter into the pipers all the way to where the exit to the city was! And by the time we got over to him, we could hear him asking for help with very small whimpers.

"Guys... please... help..." Daxter said as I turned the wheel and he soon popped out of the pipe with a forceful blast, him falling on his back and Jak about to say something until the little half-breed held up his hand. "Don't say it. Don't even chuckle. Next time... YOU turn the valve!" Dax said, me trying to hold in my laughter, but failing miserably. I laughed the whole way on our way out of the Pumping Station. "Yeah, ha ha, yuck it up all ya want," Dax groaned at me.

"Sorry, sorry, that was just too funny," I smiled at that, not being able to laugh like that for so long... it made me happy in all honesty. We then proceeded on our way back to Torn and I noticed something in the cockpit of a Zoomer that we used that we stole (as that was how most got around Haven, even us in the Palace). It was a Red Access security pass.

"What's that?" Jak asked.

"The only way to traverse the barriers that cut you off from city sections. This one works for getting from the Slums to the Industrial and seaport sectors of the city. But I'd need two to work with, since you guys probably wouldn't be around for some of the jobs I were to do," I said to them.

"Point taken. I wonder where I could get one," Jak thought.

"Think later. We've arrived," I smiled at him, Jak looking surprised that I got us to the Underground's entrance quite easily. "I know Haven like the back of my hand, even after being imprisoned, it hasn't changed a bit," I batted an eyelash at him playfully.

"Remind me to get your number, sweet stuff," Daxter said to me, me responding my flicking his nose.

"I'm not into short and furry guys, sorry. I know you used to be human before, but I couldn't handle being the mother of a human-ottsel crossbreed," I said to him with all honesty.

"Eh, point taken, babe. Besides, I need to stay single so the other ladies get a whiff of my manliness," Daxter gloated as we went down the stairs and approached Torn, me seeing that Sammie and Minnie had some clothes for me in particular!

"Oh, thank you, girls. You're the best," I smiled at them, seeing the shirt was brand new.

"You're welcome, Sasha. After all, you turned on the water for the slums so we could finally get a good shower!" they smiled, Torn emerging from the bathroom with a towel over his shoulders.

"I'd love to see the heads roll when the Baron finds out about you guys turning the water back on," Torn smirked at me and Jak.

"Yeah, I'm sure he's losing lots of sleep over this armpit of the city. We've done what you've asked, now when do we see the Shadow?" Jak asked.

"When I say so, IF I say so," Torn said grimly. "But before I even think about it, I want you two to take care of an ammo dump we've ID'd in the fortress. Lots of Krimzon Guards, constant patrols. We know it's vulnerable and we need you to blow all the ammo you find inside. Get it all, and we'll deal a big blow to the Baron's finances," Torn smiled.

"Well, I'd love to do that, I really would, but I would like it if, instead, you give Jak and Dax that mission while I get a shower and into these new clothes. You could give me a different job after I'm done if they haven't come back," I smiled at Torn, hoping he'd allow that.

"Heh, fine, I know Tess is like that too. Just know that these two ladies here are also going to help the Underground, only they're not going to be doing field work," Torn said, Dax looking at him with a frown.

"Wait a minute, we had to fetch a banner and nearly got killed by a collapsing tower and these two get in for free?" Dax frowned.

"Let's just say that we've known each other for quite some time. He helped us out numerous times, even during his years as a KG. He quit the guard when we were falsely imprisoned by Praxis. Our crime that he told us we committed? Spying on the KG. All we did was talk to Torn on his days off and we got imprisoned by Errol... how I want to take our combined heads and build a gigantic bomb just to blow that asshole up!" Minnie growled lowly.

"Wow, and I thought I had issues with that... never knew you were like that on the inside, sis," Sammie admitted to her sister.

"Anyways, bathroom please?" I smiled.

"Go ahead. It's open," Torn smiled. Jak and Daxter left the moment I went into the door to clean my filthy, prison-worn body from top to bottom.


	6. Meeting Krew

**Chapter 6**

While Daxter and I went to the Fortress to get to the ammo dump, a lot of things happened. We accidentally activated a security tank that chased us relentlessly, we found a Red Access security pass, and we found out a very disturbing bit of information from eavesdropping on a meeting between some guards and some Metal Heads! They were giving eco to the Metal Heads for some unknown reason. In the end, Dax and I blew up the ammo dump with some help from a second security tank and we got back to the Underground where we came across Torn giving Sasha a briefing.

"Ah, right on time. How'd it go?" Sasha smiled at us.

"One BBQ'd ammo dump, served up hot!" Daxter bragged while I told Torn the info.

"We saw something odd while torching the ammo. There were Krimzon Guards giving barrels filled with Eco to a group of Metal Heads!" I said, Torn looking surprised at that while Sasha gasped.

"Baron Praxis is dealing our city's Eco to the Metal Heads?! As in, the same Metal Heads he's currently at war with?!... What the hell is even going on in that thick skull of his?" Sasha frowned.

"The Shadow will be very interested to hear that," Torn smiled at us before Daxter spoke up.

"You know, so far your gigs have been easier than stealing grass from a sleeping Yakow," my little orange friend said, earning some chuckling from Torn.

"You three wanna prove yourselves? I was going to give the job to Sasha, but you all three can do it now. One of our suppliers needs his payment delivered. A bag of Eco ore. Take the zoomer out back and take it to the Hip Hog Heaven saloon in South Town. Ask for Krew, he'll be there. And don't let the Baron's patrols stop you," Torn said, me looking at the look that Sasha had on her right now.

It made her look much better than the prison garb that we both had to wear for all that time. She was now dressed in a black shirt with a skull mark on it, her blue hair was tied up in a ponytail, she wore long jeans that fit her perfectly, and she also wore some Velcro shoes on her feet that were black as well. It was like she was showing how dangerous she was while also showing that she was fun at the same time.

"Oh, and when you get there, pump Krew for information. He's wired into the city and may know what the Baron is up to," Torn said.

"Let's get going, guys. We don't have all day and that package won't wait for us," Sasha said, me smiling at her as we walked out, Daxter slapping my head to get my attention off of her... body. "What's wrong, guys? Come on," Sasha smiled, the zoomer with the cargo being a triple-seater with the ore in the middle seat and Sasha and I getting in the left and right of the zoomer respectively. Sasha then proceeded to fly the Zoomer to the south and we came across a red barrier, our group traversing it with no issue at all. And when we got to the Industrial sector, we barely had time to take in the red-colored sights. Why? The KG were all over us and they even set up a roadblock in the upper zone!

"Time to get evasive!" Sasha said as she switched to the lower zone, having to dodge a couple of shots from the Hellcats while going through the Industrial sector, impressing me with her driving skills as she drove extremely fast in the bulky transport, managing to get past a second roadblock as we entered the South Town, Sasha zooming through the place for about five minutes until I was absolutely positive that the guards weren't following us anymore.

"Okay, now let's get to the saloon," Dax said, our group heading off to a neon sign that had an animatronic hip hog atop it. When we entered it, Sasha took the ore and proceeded into the place with Dax and me following. "Let me handle this, Jak. Watch my finesse and style," Daxter smiled, me frowning at him as Sasha looked around with the ore in hand and we saw a large colored guy with very cool armor and a big gun on him.

"You know where Krew is, big guy?" Sasha asked the big one... until the voice of a bigger (and I do mean MUCH bigger) man appeared.

"That would be me," the man said as he flew down on a floating chair, Sasha and Daxter gawking at him while I simply scrunched my nose at how ugly he looked.

"You Krew? Well we shook the heat and your shipment's in primo condition," Daxter smiled as Sasha handed over the eco ore to the big man.

"That's good ey. Because a cargo of rare eco ore is worth more than ten of your lives... and of course, I'd be forced to collect... ah... slowly," Krew smiled, his jiggling face rolls not helping his ugliness. He had to weigh at the least 600 pounds! How the chair was able to hoist him was beyond my comprehension. "And I see that the wife of the Baron is in the Underground as well, ey?" Krew smirked as he looked at her with a smile.

"Not anymore. I no longer wish to be called a Praxis. Not after what that monster did to me, Jak, and dozens of innocent prisoners with that horrid chair," Sasha grumbled.

"Ah, Dark Warrior projects, are you?" Krew asked before Sasha spoke up.

"Yes, and we wanted to know some information... do you know why my asshole ex-husband is trading eco with Metal Heads?" Sasha asked, Krew looking at her angrily before calming down.

"Questions like that are not easy to answer unless the one asking proves their worth... Sig. Give the former Baroness and her partners a bonus," Krew said, me wondering what that meant before the big guy with the armor on him gave me and Sasha a gun each... and when I held it, I formed a giant smile on my face.

"Oh hell yeah! Haven't used a gun for so long! I hope I'm just as accurate as before," Sasha smiled.

"Then head to the gun course down the road a bit. Do well enough to beat the Bronze record and I may put you up for a job or two, ey?" Krew smiled.

"We will learn the information we desire when we do some jobs for you, right?" I frowned at him.

"Of course. Anything for the lovely Sasha," Krew smiled, Sasha frowning as she walked out of the place with me and Daxter following her.

"Whew... I thought we'd never get out of there fast enough..." Sasha sighed.

"So do you know Krew from the past?" Dax asked for me.

"No, I never did. He did, however, constantly send me letters in the mail at least once a week when I was in the guard and even as Baroness... he uh... he's extremely ugly when unclothed," she said, me faking gagging at that, which caused her to laugh. "Good to know you feel my pain," she laughed at that... it made me happy when she laughed like that.


	7. Sasha and Sig's Wastelander Time

**Chapter 7**

"I'm jealous," Jak said to me bluntly when I managed to break the gold record after he had taken care of the bronze.

"That's fine, it just means that you can strive to become as good as I am," I smirked at him with a wink... though I did notice that he was staring at me with giant eyes... he stared at me like this on our way out of the Underground as well. "Are you eyeing me?" I asked him, Jak gasping and turning his head away bashfully at that. "I knew it," I smirked, Jak only blushing at that.

"It's just... I still remember something that Errol told me while you slept," Jak said, me wondering what that meant.

"What did that crazy loon tell you?" Daxter asked.

"That he and Keira had sex... twice... and that was only five weeks ago," Jak said, me gasping at that.

"Jak... I'm so sorry," I said, wondering if I could console him at all.

"It's just... it's like Keira's forgotten about me... so I wanted to try and see if you could be a better option... we spent over a year together in that cell, helping each other to stay sane during our time in that hellhole... so I just thought that I could... you know..." Jak said, me hushing him with a finger to his mouth.

"So long as you promise never to betray me and never keep secrets from me, I promise that I'll stay faithful, Jak. Those are really my only rules... Baron never shared any secrets with me and he betrayed me heavily... please don't do what he did," I smiled at him, Jak smiling and nodding.

"I promise," Jak smiled, Daxter breaking us apart before we could go in for a kiss.

"Put it on ice, guys! Wait until it's nighttime before ya do that? We have to get back to Krew after all," Daxter said, me smiling at that.

"Your orange friend has a point. Let's get back to Krew," I giggled. We then got back to him and we were met with Krew looking at us with smiles.

"Excellent shooting, lads! Ever fancy being a Wastelander, hmm?" Krew asked me and Jak, me smirking at that.

"Wastelander? As in, shoot tons of monsters and sell their heads to get rich Wastelanders?" I smiled.

"But of course. If you can prove your worth with Sig at the Pumping Station, I'll let you in on why the Baron is trading with Metal Heads, ey?" Krew smiled.

"Deal," Jak smiled.

"Well, I actually had a different job for you and your rat, Jak. You'll be going down into the sewers to destroy some security turrets that the Baron put down there. I need them gone so that I can smuggle things through the sewers again, hmm?" Krew said as he fanned himself with a folding fan. Jak sighed at this but I held my hand to his and smiled.

"Don't worry, Jak. It'll all be worth it for that information. Just make sure not to fall in the water and you'll be okay," I smiled at him.

"Well no shit. Figuratively and literally," Daxter pouted, me laughing at that as Sig came by my side.

"You ready to prove your worth, lass? Not many female Wastelanders can battle with the best of 'em, so I'm lookin' forward to how you do out there, cherry," Sig smirked at me.

"Well, considering I was the best gunslinger in the KG a few years ago, I'd say I'm more than capable," I smirked at him as I held my Scatter Gun and cocked it. "Let's go melt those Metal Heads. What kind are we looking for?" I smiled at Sig.

"We're looking for Crab Heads, a large Metalhead resembling a crab with a gun on its hand. I'm gonna bag five of 'em at the Pumping Station. But don't fret, 'cause we're rolling with the Peacemaker," Sig smiled as he showed off his gun, me smiling at it.

"Peacemaker? I've only heard of a few KG members that have that big-ass gun! Krew got it for ya, didn't he?" I smirked at him as we got to a double-seated zoomer and I took the controls.

"Actually, I got it from my time in the Wastelands... your asshole of a husband threw me out of the city along with the former ruler, just so you know," Sig said, me frowning at that.

"First of all, that happened before I married him and second of all, I'm no longer married to him. I never want to be called a Praxis ever again. I just want to be Sasha Nell from here on out," I frowned at him as I drove us through the Industrial and Slum sectors.

"Sorry... didn't know that was a touchy subject," Sig frowned at me.

"When we work out there in the Pumping Station, I'm going to show you what he did to both me and Jak. What he turned us into," I frowned at him. We then arrived at the pipe to the Pumping Station and proceeded through the doors, us emerging on the other side to see some very durable Metal Heads on the other side alongside some Glubs. "Juice Goons. These bastards... ugh," I groaned as I thought of how I could take them out before I remembered. My dark powers.

"You want to show me that secret weapon you were talking about?" Sig asked as we got spotted by the monsters, them proceeding towards us as I sighed. I growled as I summoned forth my darkness, my form changing to its dangerous and deadly dark eco form, Sig gawking at me as I panted angrily as I saw the Metal Heads.

"Die," I growled lowly, my voice full of reverb as I rushed the monsters and used my claws to rip into their throats and their faces, not a single one of them remaining intact after only thirty seconds. I then let my dark side return to the recesses of my mind and sighed, Sig gawking at what he had just witnessed me do.

"Whoa..." was all he was able to say.

"Yeah, whoa. And the process of getting turned into this thing? It feels like giving birth while getting punched by a heavyweight boxer all over. The Dark Warrior program," I growled at him.

"So it turned you into a kind of killing machine, huh?" Sig asked.

"Yeah... and I hate it... Praxis turned me into a monster all because I disagreed with him on the project in question," I sighed. He simply put a hand on my shoulder and smiled.

"Pick your head up, cherry. If you can control that side of ya, you can become the ultimate Wastelander, even greater than me," Sig smiled at me, which made me smile back at him. "Now get behind me while I toast this tank," Sig smiled, me listening as he charged up his gun and, when it fully charged up, it connected to the tank and caused it to explode everywhere!

"Now we're cooking with butter!" I smiled, me leading the charge across the bridge with my Scatter gun, smashing it into a Metalhead before then firing a blast at him and the rest of them, continuing this pattern until all of them were dead. I then jumped onto a raised platform so it would lower while Sig handled some annoying Znorkle Teeth.

"Great, no time to celebrate," Sig said as we went forward and I smiled when Sig found the first target.

"I'll cover you in case those annoying bastards come back," I said, Sig charging the Peacemaker and, the moment he started, the annoying Znorkle Teeth came back, me smacking them back into the water at least four times before Sig finally shot at the Crab Head, the Metal Head falling in the water shortly after.

"That's one fried Metal Head, four to go," Sig smirked as we proceeded down to a sandy area. After I took care of the Juice Goons and some more Znorkle Teeth and Glubs, Sig saw the next Crab Head above us. "There's the second target. Sittin' pretty," he smiled as he started to charge, me noticing that the Znorkle Teeth were coming from the beach like they were entering the next stage of evolution (not that I believed in that malarky or anything). I handled them with two attacks each, needing to get them before they got to Sig. After dealing with four of them, Sig shot at the Crab Head, me smirking at how he held his thumb up and then switched it to down when the Metalhead fell in the water. "Haha! Metal Head Flambe!" Sig smirked.

"Gross," I smiled back as we went forward some more and I handled getting another bridge down as well as handling some more Juice Goons in the process.

"There's another one. The trick is to not hit the pipes," Sig smiled, me noticing that it was a bit of a tight squeeze for a Peacemaker shot to reach this one in particular, but I had a feeling Sig would do it. And, after handling the annoying tongue lashers a third time, he shot it perfectly, hitting the Metal Head again, it actually smashing into the metal bridge before falling into the water. "With Metalheads I say shoot first, ask questions later," Sig smiled.

"Agreed on that much," I giggled as we proceeded to get some more Juice Goons and another one, where Sig shot a Peacemaker shot through two pipes and directly at the Crab Head, the accuracy being top notch! "Nice! Your accuracy is amazing," I smiled at him.

"Years of practice," Sig smiled at me. We then proceeded to the next area and proceeded to shoot some more Juice Goons, only this time, Sig's gun started to jam, so he had to fiddle with it while I handled the monsters. I managed to kill at least ten of them before Sig got the gun back to normal, me collecting their skull gems in the process and seeing that I now had a total of 31, easily enough to get Jak's dark side under control if I met up with him again. And after the final Crab Head fell to Sig's Peacemaker, he smiled at me.

"Boom! Home team five, Metal Heads nothing! That was the last one. Tell Krew we got 'em all cooked and canned. I'm gonna go collect the trophies and clean out the Peacemaker... you did good, Nelly," Sig smiled, me smirking at that nickname.

"Thanks, Sig. For calling me Nelly," I smiled at him as I then proceeded back to the pipe where I would return to Krew's place... how long of a journey that would take, though... I just had to hope Jak and Dax waited for me.


	8. A Tearful Reunion

**Chapter 8**

Dax and I managed to finish going to the sewers quite easily and we decided it best to wait outside of Krew's until Sasha returned, which she did in less than ten minutes. "Thanks for waiting for me, guys. Appreciate it," Sasha smiled at us.

"You're welcome... tell us though. Do we stink?" I asked, Sasha smiling and sniffing my body and Daxter's. She smiled at us.

"Only a tiny bit, mostly from sweat. No farts or piss, just body sweat," Sasha smirked, Daxter smiling at that.

"You sure like jokes, don't you?" Daxter smiled.

"Well, best to have humor in our work. Besides, I got us enough skull gems to go visit the Oracle the next chance we get. But first, let's report to Krew," Sasha smiled, her going inside first and me smiling at the fact she was able to help me with my dark side when we got to the Oracle next.

"One sewer cleared of turrets with a side of Metal Heads killed," I smirked as Sasha then picked up.

"And five Crab Heads cooked and canned for the saloon," Sasha smirked.

"Good, very good," Krew smiled at us. "Now about your payment, I have a Blaster mod for each of you right here... and I have that information you wanted to hear so badly," Krew smiled at us as he gave me and Sasha a gun mod for our rifles, Sasha smiling at it.

"Hello, Blaster, my old friend... ah, how I've missed killing monsters with this baby," Sasha smiled while petting the gun, me seeing that they had a laser pointer on them for better accuracy, but not daring to mention that to her.

"As for the information, what I know is that the Baron cut a desperate deal with the Metalhead leader," Krew said as he flew upwards to a picture of a sexy girl on the wall. "Metalheads need eco, so the Baron supplies them with regular shipments. And in return, the Metalheads agree to attack the city just enough to satisfy the Baron's continued rule," Krew said, Sasha gasping and frowning at that.

"Baron Praxis is making a deal like that just to keep in charge?... That sounds extremely stupid on his end. Metalheads are dangerous no matter what they are. Leader or not, that deal doesn't sound like it'd last," Sasha frowned.

"Well, the Baron is running short on eco, ey? And the Metalheads are short on patience. Baron Praxis needs this war to keep in power, otherwise, the city would put the true ruler on the throne... wherever the little brat is," Krew said, me remembering that kid we helped out and the old man he was with. It had been awhile since we last saw them.

"Understood... any new jobs before the day is done?" Sasha asked.

"Well, I do have one, if you fancy yourself a real challenge," Krew smiled at us as he flew to above his bar and looked at an impressive trophy. "Racing is the biggest sport in this city. Errol is the undisputed grand champion. He's crazy and dangerous on the track, my kind of guy," Krew smiled, me glaring angrily into dead space when that name was mentioned. "Only a fool would dare race against him. And that's where you guys come in. A client of mine is looking for some good racers for her team. Here are some security passes to allow you access to the stadium sector of the city... and your contract. With just a few trifles for me. I already signed your names to save time, hmm?" Krew smiled, Daxter reading the contract and Sasha frowning at the numerous stuff Krew got, which included endorsements, toys, action figures, and, the most antagonizing thing...

"GAME RIGHTS?!" Daxter exclaimed that part out loud.

"Hehe, we can work out the tiny details later, I'm sure. If you two can get from here to the race garage in less than three minutes, my client said she would consider letting you join her team... now make me proud, hmm?" Krew said, me wondering if this client would be Keira. If she was, I definitely needed to have a talk with her. And so did Sasha.

Sasha and I then went to the Zoomers outside and we saw there were two single-seater ones. "Last one there does the laundry tonight!" Sasha smiled, Daxter and I smirking as we got on our Zoomer and we began to race, both of us having to race at a similar speed and me taking the tight turns better than Sasha did. By the time we reached the Slums, Dax and I were in the lead by a few seconds and Sasha was a few behind us. I managed to stay that way until we reached the stadium section past a green barrier, where Sasha got a shortcut from underneath a pipe and out the other side, entering the stadium area in 2 and a half minutes, me and Dax arriving only a few seconds later and us immediately going to the garage, wondering who the client would be.

"Hello? Krew said someone was looking for a race driver?" I asked, wondering who the client would be.

"Hey, you must be Krew's new errand boys. Don't get me wrong, you did get here fast, but I'm not interested in any new drivers right now," the voice said, me recognizing it, but not quite placing it... that is, until Sasha spoke up.

"Listen, Hagai, you have some explaining to do to a certain blonde hero and you need to do it now," Sasha said, me gasping at that.

"Keira?" I asked, the woman appearing from behind a curtain, her gasping when she saw me and Daxter.

"J-Jak? Daxter? Oh I never thought I'd see you again! I thought you were gone for good!" Keira said when she saw us, her smile fading when Sasha said something to her.

"Says the one who betrayed Jak by sleeping with Commander Errol," Sasha said, me looking at Keira as she looked at her with a gasp and she looked at me worriedly, which I expected.

"Jak... p-please understand..." Keira said, me frowning at that.

"Understand what?" I asked her with a frown, her not even caring that I just spoke to her.

"I thought you were gone! I thought that when we were separated, you were gone forever! I didn't know you and Daxter were in this city... I gave up hope 15 months ago... and Errol was there to console me," Keira said. The next words were said by me as she needed to hear them.

"Yeah, and that same Errol injected myself, Sasha, and tons more unlucky prisoners with Dark Eco for way too long. I was in there for two straight years, she was in there in my same cell for at least a year. And countless unfortunate prisoners before us were driven so far insane, they were killed and their bodies thrown away in the garbage," I said, Keira looking at me in shock before collapsing on the ground in a crumpled mess.

"Errol... he did all of that to you?... I... I never knew..." Keira said with obvious sadness in her eyes. "Please... forgive me, Jak... for being such a fool..." Keira said, me looking at her as I picked her up from the ground, her looking at me with a blubbering face.

"On two conditions. Firstly, we just remain friends. And second, you let us join your racing team," I said, Keira looking at Sasha and me with large puppy dog eyes.

"Answer me this... how did this Sasha girl know about Errol and me having sex?" Keira asked.

"Errol told me that five weeks ago, while I was still in prison. He knew very well what he was doing when he told me that. Trying to break me emotionally... and this is what he did to us... would you mind showing her, Nelly?" I asked Sasha, her sighing and undergoing her transformation, Keira gasping as she backed up to the wall in fear.

"It's okay, Keira. I'm a friendly," Sasha spoke, her voice full of reverb, much like Gol's when I fought him in the past. But she was in complete control. She was much tougher than I was, that much was for sure. She then let her transformation go and Keira sighed as she calmed down.

"Okay... I'll accept those conditions... and Sasha? I want to see how well you can prove your skills. Take my prototype jet board to the stadium challenge. If you can beat a score of 10 thousand points, I'll let you take care of Jak like I never could," Keira said, me looking at her with a smile as I placed my hand on her shoulder, getting her attention.

"It's okay, Keira. If our roles were reversed, I would've given up hope too... anyone would," I said to her, Daxter then butting in with his usual sass.

"I know I never gave up hope! By the way, I want this contract changed so that WE get the game rights instead of the jelly donut in the flying chair," Daxter said as he handed her the contract, her finally smiling at that.

"A simple fix like that? I can do that much," Keira smiled as I saw that Sasha had proceeded out of the place and to the stadium, a screen nearby showing that she had gotten on the Jet Board and she worked it like a pro. She had used it before, that much was for sure.

"When did you make the jet board and the Zoomers, Keira? Sasha said that you were the one to revolutionize the Zoomer tech," I smiled at her, Keira looking at me with a small, sad smile. Given that she was crying a few minutes ago, I could understand that and her puffy eyes.

"I made them within only a month of getting here. I figured that since this world was more advanced with technology, I could finally be allowed to go full out on designs and creating things," Keira smiled at me. "The Jet Board was the hardest thing to craft, which is why it's still a prototype. I finished it after 2 months straight of development, only taking breaks to sleep, eat, drink, and use the bathroom. It's still in the works, as I want to add a special boost jump feature and an area of effect attack, but I'm willing to let you have it if you can do something impressive," Keira smiled at me.

"We got to prove our worth? But we're heroes, right?" I smiled at her.

"In the past, yes. But no matter what way you look at it, you and Sasha, even with your strengths, are kind of on a losing playing field. Baron Praxis and his Krimzon Guard sit in the palace, which is unable to be visited except by two means. Either have a Purple Access security pass, or take an elevator up to the top of a cable support tower, go the whole way across it to the palace, and get down an elevator from there to arrive at Baron Praxis's throne room. But the issue is that the elevators have been shut down because they don't have any power flowing through them. If you could find some way to juice the elevators back up, you'd be able to go straight to the Baron for a fistfight of the century," Keira smiled at me.

"And what about Errol?" Daxter asked, Keira frowning at that.

"I'm going to break it to him that I don't want to be his girlfriend anymore the next time he visits me... and I may just hire Sasha as my bodyguard if he ever does show up to talk to me," Keira smiled. I then looked at the screen and smiled at how Sasha had managed to break past the ten thousand points AND achieve the gold record and was still racking up insane points with only 15 seconds left on the clock. "By the way, I'd heard from Errol that Sasha used to be the Baron's wife before she was arrested for treason... what was she really arrested for?" Keira asked with intrigue.

"She willingly went to prison when she finally learned what Praxis did to us with the Dark Warrior program. Her first exposure to that horrible chair was just like with me. She couldn't walk for two straight days from the sheer amount of pain and torture from the first dose of Dark Eco entering her bloodstream," I said.

"Taking a note. Next time I see Errol, have Sasha come by to punch him in the face twenty times," Keira said, Sasha coming into the garage area with a smile plastered on her face.

"Considering the fact that I assume the pain of a first Dark Eco injection to be at least 20 times more painful than child birth, I'd say that's quite fitting," Sasha smiled widely as she spun around a cup that held 9 Precursor orbs inside of it. "Consider me your bodyguard from here on out as well as Jak's forever protector," Sasha smiled, Keira smiling at that.

"You got the gold record too? You really are impressive. By the way, if you and Jak can get to the Palace and back in one piece without a pass, I'll give you that jet board to keep," Keira smirked, Sasha smiling at that.

"Well, I don't have my Purple pass anymore, but all we need to do is find a way to go up one of those support towers and we're golden... I think I may know someone..." Sasha was about to say until I got a call from Torn.

"Jak, I have a new mission for you and Sasha. Get back here on the double," Torn said, Keira looking at me with confusion.

"Underground business. No telling, or we'd be in deep trouble," Sasha smiled at her.

"I won't tell a soul. I actually like the Underground... Krew on the other hand... he's creepy, smelly, rude... and he's the biggest thug in town," Keira said.

"With rolls like that, I believe it," Sasha said, Keira trying to hold her laughter in, but failing miserably as her smile failed and she laughed out loud for the first time since we'd met her, which in turn got all of us to laugh again.


	9. A Mole on the Eco Team

**Chapter 9**

After Jak and I got to the Oracle, we gave it 25 of our skull gems and I gasped when a giant flume of dark eco poured out of it and it spoke as Jak and I were turned into our feral forms. "You do well to rid this world of its metal scourge. As a reward, I grant you control of your dark powers. If you can collect 150 more skull gems, come back here. If you can do so, I will grant your darkness invulnerability to all attacks while it is active," the Oracle said, me smiling at that challenge.

"Well, now that we can control these forms, let's go back to Torn for our next job," I said to Jak with a smile.

"Agreed," Jak smiled as we got back in our zoomers and went back to the Underground.

"One of the Baron's mining operations is under attack by the Metalheads," Torn said to us when we returned to the Underground, me seeing that Minnie and Sammie weren't around.

"That's not OUR problem," Jak growled angrily.

"It IS our problem when the foreman is one of the Underground's best informants. His name is Vin and he's just valuable enough to save," Torn said, me gasping when he said that.

"Wait, wait, wait, hold up! Vin? Scaredy Pants Vin? Nervous Twitchy? THAT Vin?" I asked with a smile, using the nicknames the other KG members used for him when they talked to me while I was Baroness.

"Yeah, that Vin. Find the warp gate at the Power Station in the Industrial sector to rescue his pathetic hide, if he's still alive, that is," Torn said.

"Hey! Tattooed wonder! How come we get all the crappy missions?" Daxter asked, trying to act tough, but me knowing that it'd fail miserably with the person in question.

"Because I. Don't. Like. You," Torn growled, poking Dax straight on his back.

"Whatever deal the Baron made with the Metalheads, the city's eco is almost gone and his time is runnin' out. If we don't get that kid back on the throne soon, there may not be a city left to defend," Torn frowned.

"Oh yeah, that's right! We got the information from Krew that you wanted. Apparently, the Baron cut a deal with the Metalhead Leader," I said, Torn's eyebrows raising when I said that.

"What's this deal supposed to be?" Torn asked.

"The Metalheads need eco, so the Baron gives them regular shipments. And in return, the Metalheads attack the city just enough to ensure he's constantly at war. It's apparently the only possible way that Praxis can keep in power is if he's constantly at war with those monstrous creatures. Otherwise, the city would overthrow him in a snap," I said, Torn smiling at that.

"Looks like we finally know how to really deal blows to the Baron, then. Try to halt the flow of eco in any way, it'll hurt his shipments. No shipments, no deal," Torn said, me smacking my face at the stupidity of what he had just said.

"No, you dunce. It's not as easy as that. Do you not forget that eco is also what keeps the shield walls active? If the Baron doesn't get any eco shipments, then it'll hurt the shield wall system even worse than his Metalhead deal. And when those walls come down, we all know what will happen next. And I don't think I need to remind you of what it is," I frowned at him, Torn frowning at this.

"You make a good point, Sasha. Without that shield wall, the Metalheads will surely overwhelm our city... then it looks like we only have one option left... we need an inside mole in on the Baron's plans to see which eco he plans on using for the city and which he plans on trading... hmm..." Torn frowned, looking at me with a very uncomfortable gaze.

"What uh... what's with the eyes, Torn?" I asked him uncomfortably, wondering what he had in mind.

"What's your dress size?" Torn asked me.

"It's only a bit bigger than yours, why?" I asked him. Torn smiled and dove under his desk, fiddling around with the cupboards until he produced something from within, me gasping at it.

"I-Is that... a KG uniform?" I gawked at him.

"Yes, it is. My old KG suit from back in the day. If you wear the outfit with your mask on, you can infiltrate the Baron's forces and, with my one KG friend's help, we can get you onto the eco control team. That way, you'll be able to know everything about where the eco is going and coming from," Torn smiled at me.

I smiled widely at that offer and looked at Jak with a smile. He simply smirked back and nodded. "You go off and rescue Nervous Twitchy. I'm going to do this secret assignment with Torn," I smiled at him widely, Jak chuckling at that.

"Good luck. And if you see Errol, you know what not to do," Jak smiled at me.

"Yeah, my voice would be a dead giveaway... unless I came up with a fake accent," I smiled.

"Good thinking," Torn smiled as he got on his communicator as Jak left the place. The next words he said would surprise the fuck out of me. "Ashelin, this is Torn. I know it's a lot to ask, but would you allow a new member of the KG to be in the eco control team?" Torn asked in the communicator, me gasping at that.

"Sure, is it one of your Underground friends?" Ashelin asked.

"Ashelin... she's your KG friend?" I asked, the other line gasping at that.

"W-Was that Momma Sasha?! What is she doing in the Underground, Torn?!" Ashelin asked, immediately getting defensive on the line.

"Peh, after your Papa Praxis threw me in prison a year ago for the Dark Warrior program and me escaping just today," I frowned at her.

"My father did that to you? Why?" Ashelin asked.

"Because I told him to. I told him to stop the Dark Warrior program because it's nothing but torture until death. He didn't listen and threatened me with jail time, but I just told him that I would go to the program willingly to prove to him how much I disagreed with it... and my first testing was on that same day, the pain feeling twenty times worse than childbirth and me being unable to move for two whole days. You have no idea how much I hate Baron Praxis now," I frowned at her, Ashelin sighing on the other end.

"So you're the one that wishes to be a mole on the inside? Any idea as to why?" Ashelin asked.

"So we can find out which shipments of eco are being used to trade with the Metalheads and which are going to the city," Torn said, Ashelin sighing on the other end.

"How did you find that information out? I never knew about this," Ashelin asked, me answering.

"When my partner was torching the Fortress's ammo dump, he overheard some guards trading barrels filled with eco to Metal Heads. From his description, there were quite a few barrels," I said, Ashelin frowning.

"Okay, I think I can have you start right away. You'll need a Yellow pass and a Air Train pass in order to be on the eco control team. I can arrange to meet with you at the Power Station to give you the passes," Ashelin said to me.

"The deal is done. Just let me get this armor on and I'll be good to go," I smiled, Ashelin cutting the connection afterwards as I took the armor that Torn gave me and I put it on piece by piece until I was completely covered, the only thing visible being my eyes because, for some reason, Torn's helmet didn't have goggles.

"Just remember that accent and you'll be golden," Torn smiled, me winking at him as I then proceeded to go to the nearby Zoomer to head off to my first gig as a member of the eco control team.


	10. Jak, Ashelin, and a New Pet

**Chapter 10**

Daxter and I managed to rescue Vin from the Strip Mine and we also took care of some Metal Heads and eggs at the Drill Platform. And he was stunned speechless when we told him that Sasha had been in jail with me for a whole year and how he never knew that.

"Please don't tell anyone, though? She's considered a wanted outlaw as of right now, after all," I said, not mentioning the fact that she was joining the Eco Control Team as an inside mole.

"I promise not to tell," Vin said, me trying to contact Sasha and her responding with a simple text.

"What'd she text you?" Daxter asked me.

"It says, 'I am outside the city walls and getting info as of right now. My shift will end in a couple of hours. See if Torn has any jobs in the meantime'. I guess she's already getting to work," I said, me wondering what kind of obstacles she'd have to face as a KG mole. Dax and I then proceeded back to the Underground and met up with Torn, him looking a bit peeved as Dax got onto the map and started to make funny faces while he spoke.

"One of my old guard comrades was sent to the Pumping Station. There's been no word for a few hours and after what you guys ran into out there, I think she may need some help," Torn said, me asking that.

"She? It isn't Sasha is it?" I asked.

"No, it's someone else..." Torn said as Dax then finally got him to break. "STOP THAT! THIS IS SERIOUS, YOU MORON!" he yelled at Dax angrily after slamming his fist on the table.

"Hwah! That's right! Don't mess with the sugar," Dax said, me rolling my eyes at him.

"This friend of mine has helped the Underground many times before. Go out there and check up on her to see if she's alright. Render assistance if needed... Now get your squirrelly ass outta here," Torn growled at Dax, who blew his tongue out at him until I grabbed him and got us out of there.

"You're playing a dangerous game, Dax. Torn doesn't seem like the kind of person you should be messing with on any level," I frowned at him as I grabbed us a Zoomer and proceeded to the station.

"So? We're on the same team, so it's not like he's gonna kill me," Daxter bragged. "Besides, I'm just trying to let my coolness ooze out. Maybe he could get some of it? He needs it with that tattooed face and that mean voice he's got," Daxter said.

"I still have to wonder who this female KG is... we'll find out shortly, I guess," I said to Dax as we arrived at the Pumping Station and we looked around a bit. We then got a message from Torn.

"Okay, the last known location was to the west on a cliff side. You'll need to climb up some pistons and then go across the cliff. Find her fast. There's been more Metalhead sightings in that area," Torn said.

"Sasha would know better than we would. She came out here Metalhead hunting with one of Krew's men," I said to him.

"You must mean that Sig character, right? He's mysterious, but he's sure as hell Krew's toughest man," Torn said.

"Yep. She got the fun job though. Dax and I had to go through the sewers to destroy security turrets that Praxis put down there," I frowned.

"Hehe, guess he favors Sasha more than you, then," Torn smiled.

"We're nearing our destination. We'll let you know more later," I said.

"Understood. Be careful out there," Torn said as Dax and I climbed up the rising and falling pistons and proceeded over the cliffs that led to an open area. And it was there that I saw one of the KG forces flying machines. Sasha told me that the larger ones were called Hellcats and the skinnier ones were called Hellhounds... which I honestly thought should've been the other way around.

"What are we doing rescuing some old Krimzon Guard hag anyways? She's probably got more facial hair than me," Daxter complained, but it was then that I suddenly felt something at my throat as well as felt my body get restrained. And then I heard a voice.

"Who the hell are you two?" asked a female voice. It was definitely the female KG.

"Mm, I do love me a woman in uniform! Wanna bark some orders at me? Woof woof!" Daxter smiled, trying to be suave with the KG girl and making her look dumbfounded and surprised at his words. "I'm your soldier on the front lines of looove! Waiter! Foxhole for two!" Daxter smiled, the girl releasing her grip on me with a small smile.

"Keep talking and I might raise your voice a couple of octaves," the girl said as she aimed the gun at Daxter's crotch, me looking at her appearance so I could memorize it. She had red dreadlocks for hair, had similar tattoos to Torn on her face, and she had on a risque outfit that looked a bit too raunchy for any normal KG unit to be wearing. It accentuated her cleavage, showed a ton of skin on her arms, legs, and thighs, and it also had armor on her feet, hands, shoulders, and crotch.

"Easy, Torn asked us to help you," I said.

"I don't need your help, but you might. We've got company," Ashelin said as she looked to a cliff above us and I frowned. More Metalheads. And this time, there were some bigger ones that looked like they'd fit the description of Crab Heads. "Here they come!" Ashelin said as I then sighed and let out my feral form, Ashelin gasping when she saw it.

"And here I go," I said angrily as I rushed into the field of Metalheads and sliced my claws through twelve of them in one swoop. And then I happened to get completely surrounded by some more that jumped from the cliff. I then decided to expel all the energy at once. I jumped high in the air and slammed my fist into the ground, dark eco blasting all around my body and killing all the Metalheads that came in contact with it.

"Hoo... that was awesome," I smiled as I then noticed only one remained... but it didn't look like it was raring for a fight. It looked... almost like an infant Metalhead. And it approached me with a slight chirp and then snuggled against my ankle, making the KG girl a bit confused as well as myself.

"Interesting... that Metalhead must have been born from inside one of the Metalheads once you killed it... maybe it was one of those Juice Goons. But it seems that it's not feral at all... in fact, it looks almost like it thinks you are its parent," the KG girl said.

"Um... okay? This is kinda awkward..." I said. Dax then made the air even more awkward when he jumped off my shoulder and flexed a bit.

"Watching me take out those Metal Heads was really... exciting, wasn't it, sugah?" Dax smiled. I simply grabbed him by the tail as the KG girl got into her Hellcat.

"Tell Torn that Baron Praxis is planning something big. I think it's gotta do with that symbol," she said as she pointed to a nearby totem that had a circular seal on it. It looked oddly familiar to me, but I didn't remember.

"What is it?" I asked.

"It's the Seal of Mar, founder of Haven City. He's sending us out on suicide missions to locate artifacts from the time of Mar's rule... if curiosity has your cat ferret, you can talk to the blind old soothsayer in the Bazaar named Onin. Here's a yellow pass to get you there," she said as she threw me a pass and I smiled when it had her name on it.

"You're name's Ashelin, huh?" I smiled at her as she started up the Hellcat and zoomed away.

"We're even now," Ashelin said as she zoomed off in a huff and I saw that the Metal Head infant looked to be eating the meat from its own kind for food.

"Hmm... what do we do with this thing?" Daxter asked.

"Well... it's kind of hard to say what to do with it... it's obviously not dangerous at this small a size and I don't think it'd be a good idea to have him walking around with us in the city... maybe I can use this spare bag that I got from Minnie and Sammie to hide him in?" I smiled.

"Just hope he doesn't make too much noise. Because if he does, then eyes will all turn towards us," Dax said.

"Like I don't know that? Besides, Torn NEEDS to hear about this," I said as I called up my Underground boss as we left the cliff.

"Torn? This is Jak. Your KG friend is safe," I said to him.

"Hehe, that's good to hear. Anything to report?" Torn asked.

"She told us to tell you that Praxis is planning something big concerning the Seal of Mar... and we have some news of our own," I said with a sigh. "When we protected her from a bunch of attacking Metalheads, we found an infant one that was born after I killed its parent... and it seems to think I'm its parent. It won't leave my side and it's not attacking myself, Dax, or your KG friend," I said to him, Torn looking confused as well.

"Wait... hmm... you said you were put up for the Dark Warrior program for two years, right? Well, according to Kor's notes about how he's seen Metalheads operate, they only follow orders of the first creature they see that has dark eco in their bloodstream. Since there were no more Metalheads in the area and you have 2 years worth of Dark Eco in your blood, it must've decided that you were its master... this could be useful to note for later," Torn smiled.

"Yeah, but I need some kind of method as to hiding it. I know for a fact that anyone not familiar with me or Dax would either try to shoot us or call the KG on us if they saw a Metalhead on my person," I said.

"Heh, I have an idea for that. For now, put that baby Metalhead in your backpack. Meet up with Vin at the Power Station. He has a special device that can mask the appearance of someone so they look like something else. I'll tell him to try not to freak out when he sees the baby Metalhead, but no guarantees," Torn said... but then someone else got on the line.

"I think I have a safer idea. I'll go to Nervous Twitchy and ask him for that device. I'll meet you two outside the entrance to Hip Hog Heaven. I got a call from Krew and he wants us to come by for a spell," Sasha said on the line.

"How did you get a three-way communicator? I hate those damn things," Torn grumbled.

"Got it as a part of being a new hire for the KG's eco control team. By the way, I know of the next shipments of eco that are going to be going to the Metalheads. They're scheduling a shipment of eco to be sent through the sewers at 10 tonight. Get some guys to take out the guards and you can get some eco as well as a disruption to Praxis's plans," Sasha said with a smile.

"Hehe, thanks for the information, Sasha. And Jak, be careful, especially of your new pet," Torn said as he got off the phone and I was left to see Sasha on her end.

"So... I know I missed out on the conversation, so what kind of pet is it?" she asked.

"An infant Metalhead that seems to think I'm its master," I said.

"Heh, not surprised. I know how Metalheads work during my time in the KG. If one is born, they always herd towards the strongest nearby Metalhead and they will merge their personalities with them in order to become stronger as well as remain loyal to that Metalhead. It never happens with humans, but with you and me, that would be an exception, since we have darkness in our blood like they do," Sasha smiled.

"So that's why it isn't attacking anything? Because it's personality merged with mine?" I asked as I hid the infant in my backpack, zipping it up almost the whole way, just enough so it could get some air.

"Most likely. Don't worry, I'll just tell Vin that I need it for the Underground and we'll be all set," Sasha smirked.


	11. Daxter Meets Tess

**Chapter 11**

After getting the device to conceal Jak's new Metalhead friend from Vin (who had no idea why I was wanting a Metalhead in the city, infant or not), but finally caved in when I said that I'd tell Ashelin to upgrade him to the front lines, that making him immediately hand it over to me.

"You don't play fair at all, you know that?!" he complained at me when he gave me the device. It looked pretty cool and it was also shaped like a collar, so it'd be perfect.

"One last tiny thing I could ask of you, Vinny?" I smiled at him playfully.

"Hmph! What is it?" he asked me in an upset manner.

"Jak and I are going to need to put the collar on the baby Metalhead out of plain sight. Do you possibly think that you could wait outside of the place somewhere so Jak and I can put the collar on the little guy in here? We promise we won't hurt anything," I said with big eyes.

"Fine, I'll give you guys five minutes. I expect you far, far away by the time I get back," Vin said.

"Of course. We're going to go to Krew's after this," I said to him.

"Okay," he grumbled as he then left the place and got in a zoomer. Not five seconds after he left on the elevated pathways, Jak and Dax came from the lower pathways to the elevated ones by double seated Zoomer.

"Took ya long enough. So, heard from Torn that you had to go save Ashelin," I smiled at them.

"Yeah, she's not the kind for talking much," Jak admitted.

"Yeah, she has her mother's looks for sure," I smiled... I didn't want to tell them the part about her being the Baron's daughter because then they'd have to ask me if I was her mom.

"You knew her?" Jak asked.

"Used to... she was banished to the wastelands by Praxis during Ashelin's tenth birthday. I should know... I was part of the team that had to take her to the desert... it still gives me guilt that I did that... I didn't want to, but I didn't dare betray Praxis. If I showed even the slightest bit of kindness if I were in the KG, they'd have left me there with her," I sighed, being truthful in all of my words as we then got into the Power Station and I looked at Jak's bag. The one that Minnie and Sammie gave him.

"Okay, I'll let him out now," I said as I then opened the bag and saw that the Metalhead happened to be an infant Scout. I could tell from its arms being large wings.

"Well, we know that it's a Metalhead Scout now that I can see it for myself. They're mainly used as reconnaissance for the Metalhead armies and are very fast and nimble. And as far as I know, if they encounter a fight, they almost always flee the scene. They're runners, not fighters," I smiled as I got the collar to fit right around the hatchling's neck, its form immediately turning into a normal everyday cat ferret. It had the body of a cat and the head of one, but it had a longer body with a long, skinny tail and short legs.

"So how will we know if this little guy is a regular Metalhead outside of the city if he wants to help in fights?" Jak asked.

"Well, luckily, this collar comes with a special remote that can make the transformation go back to normal and back to disguised with the push of a single button," I smiled as I showed off the remote, our group then going out of the place and me simply picking up the baby Metalhead and it actually cooing in its own language when it saw me... but that wasn't the weird part. The weird part? I actually understood what it was saying!

"Mm... momma..." it said, me gasping when I heard it, Jak doing so too.

"Did you hear that?" I asked him.

"Y-Yeah... did the baby say that?" Jak asked.

"He did... I think I heard it too. He called you his momma," Daxter said, me surprised he heard it too.

"I thought only the Metalhead Leader could speak in human tongue... maybe because it's got you as its parent, it's able to talk like us!" I said with a smile.

"Amazing," Jak said. But it was then that I gasped and I remembered.

"Oh shit! We need to get out of here before Vin comes back! He said 5 minutes and we only have 20 seconds left!" I exclaimed, our group immediately dispersing with me carrying the baby Metalhead in my own bag on my back, him not really weighing too much, which made me smile.

"But what do we name it?... It sounded like it was a female voice, after all," I said, saying the truth about that much.

"Hmm... how about Kiki?" Jak asked, me wondering why he chose that name. "I always wanted to have a girl named Kiki," Jak admitted.

"Very well, her name is now Kiki," I smiled at that. We then finally arrived at the Hip Hog Heaven saloon and I kept little Kiki in the bag as we approached the bar and Daxter started to flirt with the bartender, me recognizing her as the female when we first met Torn.

"Hey there, sweetie. You new here? Well what you got that's hot.. and..." Dax said before he the wheels in his brain recognized her. "Wait, I've seen ya before. You're with the Underg-" Dax was about to say before the girl shushed him with two fingers to his mouth.

"Shh! I'm Tess. Torn sent me to spy on Krew," she said, me noticing that Daxter was looking at her cleavage and her eyes at the same time. Maybe she was the one? "Play along, and I'll be able to get my hands on a few of Krew's secrets," she smiled quietly.

"Ooh, I love 'undercover' work, baby. But two can work better than one. Lemme help ya out," Daxter smirked as he hopped behind the bar, Tess giggling at that as he started to chug the different bottles of liquor, me smiling as he started to slowly and slowly get drunker and drunker.

"Jak... I need you and the talking rat to go around town and make a few collections for me," Krew said to Jak, me smiling at him wondering if I could do a job too, Daxter then getting on the counter with a wasted face.

"Hey there, five chins... how's crimes?" he asked with a hiccup, me smiling at that.

"What's his problem, ey?" Krew asked.

"Nothin'. I'm just fine.. hic! Mine yer own bizness," Dax said as he then landed on his back and started to sing a drunken song, me smirking at him and Tess looking to be entertained as well.

"Listen to me, I'm expecting a client of mine to make a few money drops around the town. Your job is to find the 14 moneybags they leave on the ground, and take care of any guards who get curious, hmm? Get to a bag too late, and some townie may pick it up," Krew said, Daxter then sitting up to say some words.

"Ya know what's da trouba wid you, Krew? You got no vizion... Dis place could be a real swingin' joint. Hop Heg Hiven with more drinkin'... more mackin'... more women! Jak knows what I'm talkin' about," Daxter said in his drunken state of mind as Krew began to talk again.

"Just collect all 14 moneybags before they disappear. And if you miss even 1 bag, then DON'T COME BACK, EH?!" he exclaimed, Daxter trying to kiss Jak's hand before I then grabbed onto him by the tail.

"Listen, you go ahead and do that job, I'll handle getting Drunky McOttsel sobered up," I smiled at Jak.

"Sounds fair to me," Jak smiled as he got outside and hopped onto a Zoomer, me looking at Tess with a smile and her already having brewed some coffee.

"Here, Dax. You need some of this," I said to him, forcing his mouth open and making him drink the coffee, him sobering up slightly from the taste.

"Whew... what happened?" Daxter asked.

"Well, you drank a ton of booze and you got wasted, sung a drunken song, started giving suggestions to Krew about how to improve the saloon, and then you tried to kiss Jak," I smiled at him.

"What?! Like I'd ever do that," Daxter frowned.

"I was a witness," Krew said, me smirking as Tess then started to laugh out loud, me giggling as well.

"Never again," Dax frowned.

"Here here," I smiled back at him as I felt Kiki moving a bit in my backpack.

"Looks like someone wants some food... it is nearing dinnertime I guess. Hey Krew? You serve any food in this saloon? Or just booze?" I asked him with a smile as I fished Kiki out of the bag with a smile.

"Is that really a cat ferret? Because it has a special collar on it," Krew asked me.

"Kiki hungee," the baby Metalhead said, me smiling at that.

"Well, Kiki here is actually a baby Metalhead that thinks Jak and I are its parents. She wants some food I guess," I smiled.

"That much I can handle. Besides, a loyal Metalhead warrior could be good for business," Krew smiled.

"Sadly, not Kiki. Metalhead Scouts, which is what she is, are lovers, not fighters. They just do recon work and don't fight at all," I said.

"Still, when it grows to maturity, it could probably fly you pretty far if it wanted to," Krew smiled.

"Yeah, that could work," I smiled.

"No way am I flying on her back. No wings, no flya-da-Ottsel," Daxter frowned.

"Good to have you back, Dax," I smirked at him.


	12. The Mystery of the Mountain Temple

**Chapter 12:**

"So what did you learn from Ashelin when you met with her?" Sasha asked me after I'd finished collecting Krew's moneybags, getting both of us a gun upgrade for the job well done before Krew kicked us out for a beauty nap.

"Well, Praxis is planning something involving the Seal of Mar and suggested that I go meet with a soothsayer in the Bazaar named Onin. Do you have a yellow pass on you?" I asked.

"As a matter of fact, I do. I got it and an Air Train pass on my first day of KG eco team work. They don't even know who I am and I made a fake accent and surname to fool them all," she smiled at me.

"And what would those be?" I asked. She then demonstrated her accent and told me her name.

"Name's Nipper, wot's yers?" Sasha giggled, me smirking at that.

"Okay, okay, so what say we do some more gigs? I think that I'll tag along with Jak to this Onin girl while you and your new Metal Head baby go to Vin. Maybe you can ask him about how to power up the elevator thing?" Daxter asked, me smirking at him afterwards.

"Sure, that sounds good," Sasha smiled as she then hopped on her Zoomer with Kiki joining her via her backpack and I then got a Zoomer myself and proceeded to the Bazaar, making sure to ask the townies if they happened to know where Onin's place was. I eventually found my answer from a woman that had blue hair and looked a bit annoyed by Daxter.

"Go to the east side of the palace and go underneath the highway. You'll find a tent in a dead-end portion of the markets... and by the way, Daxter? Osmo wants to have a word with you at some point," she said before she then walked away and I looked at him in confusion.

"Um... what's your connection with her, again?" I asked him.

"That was Taryn... see, back when I was trying to search for clues about where you were, I got hired as a bug exterminator. I met Taryn on the job and she helped me out with different equipment. Ironically, it was because I became an exterminator that I was able to find you in the prison in the first place. That stuff that I dropped on the ground next to the chair? It wasn't just clothes, but it also was my extermination equipment... the shop got blown up by my boss's competitor. I guess he must miss me," Daxter explained, me smirking at that.

"So what kind of bugs did you have to go up against?" I asked him with a smile.

"Well, considering that these bugs were actually infant versions of Metal Heads, I had to be vigilant and tenacious. A good electrical flyswatter and a can of bug spray on my back were enough to get the jobs done," Dax smirked as we finally reached the hut and he then changed the subject when he saw a strange bird creature hanging upside-down from the interior of the tent. "Cool! Check out all the dead stuff!" he smirked as he poked the thing and it then gave a warning bite to Daxter's finger and he retracted his finger with an audible pain noise.

"Touch the goods again, rat boy, and you'll be AAAAWWRRK! Counting with your toes!" the bird creature cawed as it then flew over to the old woman at the back of the tent and landed on her head adornment. "I am Pecker!" he said, me smirking at that name and seeing that he was actually a cross between a monkey and a macaw. "Yes, I know. My mother... she was... very vindictive. I am Onin's interpreter!" The old girl then started to clap her hands and speak as I saw some blue mist appear from her while doing so, which I saw was actually a bit of blue eco. "Onin welcomes you, blah blah blah blah blah, the usual boring salutations. She says it is very good to see you again, Jak," Pecker said, me being confused at that.

"But we've never met before," I said.

"Before, after. It's all the same," Pecker smirked as Daxter then started to speak.

"Oh! Oh! Let me try! She's wishing us a happy birthday... no, wait, I got it! For many moons, she has waited for... a juice pop? A jewel shop? Oh, oh! She's got a hairball!... Hair lip... Hairy chest!" Dax said, me frowning at that as Pecker then flew to us and smiled.

"Close... but NO! Onin says you seek answers, AAAAWWWRRKK! About the Tomb of Mar!" Pecker said, me smirking at that.

"Yeah, that is a bit close. We were wondering about the Seal of Mar, but I'm guessing that has to do with a Tomb connected to it?" I asked.

"Right... now she's going on and on about mystical energy channels, evil curses, stupid OOOOOh... crap. Forget all that! I'm going to sum this up quickly because now you're running into my siesta time!" Pecker said in an annoyed manner, Daxter and I looking at each other and him doing a cuckoo face, me smirking and nodding at him. "Onin says you must recover 3 ancient artifacts from the Mountain Temple to the west of Haven City... Not two, not four, three. And when you collect all three of them, they will be integral to finding out the location of Mar's Tomb," Pecker said, me smiling at that.

"Got it. Get three artifacts, coming up," I smiled as I then went out of the tent and I proceeded to get a Zoomer to the area in question, where I saw it was up a large ramp and on the outskirts of the city. And when we got through, we saw that there was a teleporter ring and a huge gorge in front of us. I hopped into the ring and soon found myself at the very top of the gorge, me and Daxter then shooting at a platform with the Blaster to get it to fall over and we then went on the other side and down an elevator to the next part, which was where we saw our first hurdle. A couple of Metal Heads. Some of them were similar to the ones from the Pumping Station and a couple others looked like frogs. And to the west was a Metal Head that had a shield and a gun, kind of like the one that I encountered in the Drill Platform.

"Alright, I say we go to the west first," I smiled at Dax, him groaning as I then baited the Metal Head to shoot at me, me then shooting him with a Blaster shot while his shield was down. I did that one more time and then went forward down the path, us getting jumped by a slew of frog Metal Heads, but the Scatter Gun destroyed them easily.

"These Metal Heads are cake," I smiled as I then hopped down to a lower alcove and immediately felt karma hit me. A big Metal Head appeared from a bunch of rocks and looked pretty tough. It had armor plating all over and it had nasty spikes on its head and body. And it looked an awful lot like a rhino on top of that. "Nevermind what I say!" I exclaimed as I then had to bait this one to run after me towards the cliff, then I jumped out of the way at the last minute, the rhino actually being dumb enough to run the whole way off of the cliff and it then fell down into the bottomless caverns below!

"Hah! The bigger they are the harder they fall, huh, Jak?" Daxter smirked at me, me giving him a fist bump for that one. I then activated a switch to continue forward and after some more jumping over cliffs and chasms and after defeating a couple more Metal Heads, we eventually came across a point of interest. It was a very bright light in the center of the room and it was coming from the ceiling. Daxter sat near the light and I saw his tail start to smoke. "Somethin's cookin'. Hmm... kinda smells like... BURNT OTTSEL?! WWWAAAGH!" Daxter exclaimed as he ran all around the place in a circle, which actually managed to make a chain reaction take place that let the source of the light slowly lower into my grasp, me seeing that it was actually a white disc made of diamond. And Daxter managed to finally put out his flaming tail soon after, me smirking at that as I picked him off the ground and I put the disc in my backpack.

"Getting a little runny, eh Dax?" I smirked, Dax growling and slapping me on the head, but it barely did anything given our size difference and me being tougher from the Dark Eco in my blood... and whenever I thought of that, it just made me mad again. I had to hope that we could actually stop Praxis and his mad conquest.


	13. Fight on the Palace Rooftops

**Chapter 13:**

"Hey, Vin? I need a favor," I smiled at him after I got to the power station with my little Kiki riding in my backpack.

"I can't help you with your eco bill," he said without even looking at me.

"No, not that... actually, I have two favors. One, please don't be afraid of my Metal Head baby, because Kiki is actually very nice. Ain't that right, Kiki?" I smiled at my backpack, her giggling at that.

"Pretty lights," she smirked, Vin looking a bit nervous regardless.

"And the other, I need to know if I can get you to power up an elevator to one of the Palace's support towers. You're the techno geek, so what do I need to do?" I smirked at him, Vin frowning at that.

"I think I may be able to activate the power back to the main elevator to the northeast support tower in the Maintown district, but you'll need to find 5 power switches and activate them for me. The only downside is that they're guarded by motion-sensing turbo cannons! If you can destroy them and get the switches pushed, I can do the rest. Just don't tell the Baron I ever saw ya," he said, me nodding at that as I then turned around and Vin was finally able to see Kiki, her smirking at him and waving her little arms.

"Bye, crazy guy," she smirked, me needing to hold in my laughter at how cute that was! I then proceeded to the first of the turbo cannons, me knowing there was one nearby. And when I got close, the cannon activated, me then shooting it with the blaster to make it disappear and I then hit the switch underneath it, me immediately feeling the heat from the guards soon after. I then raced to a zoomer and zoomed off to the next one in the southern area of the Industrial Sector, which is when the KG guards really started to give me trouble, them starting to fire at me with their guns, which I had to be careful of as I rushed to the next couple in the Slums and found that the fourth one was actually guarded by the KG! I had to take them out with my guns so that I could get to it, which made me feel bad, but I had to get to the Baron's palace in one way or the other. I then rushed to the final one and hit the button, me then getting Vin on the horn.

"Okay, the elevator's got power now. Just take it up to the top of the Support Tower or whatever... have fun being killed by the Baron at around 300 feet in the air, by the way," Vin said with worry, me smirking at that and not even bothering to dignify that last comment with a response. I then found the elevator and hid inside of it while the KG were outside, me then going up it and smirking at the g-force that happened afterwards. And after that, I smiled at Kiki speaking again.

"My tummy feel funny," she said with a smile.

"Would you like something to eat, Kiki?" I smiled, her giggling afterwards as she then got out of my backpack and I then decided I'd give her something that I knew a Metal Head would love. I took a clip of my Scatter Gun's ammo and poked a hole into it with my Dark Eco claws and then gave her the juice from inside, Kiki slurping it up and giggling soon after. I had a feeling it'd be enough for her to be content, and her rubbing her little tummy after proved my point.

"Kiki happy," she smiled, me smirking at that as I then let her back in my backpack and we then went forward and I saw that we were, indeed, very high up on the cable. Looking down over the edge, I could see that everyone looked like ants below us. I then proceeded across the different beams and saw that the cable had a bunch of different dangers such as cannons and some open electrified portions, but I managed to get by from some alternate routes underneath the cable and on the sides. And the further I went forward, I then saw that it started to rain. I managed to reach the other side by the time it reached 10 pm and I then saw that I was over top of Praxis's throne room. I decided to listen in along with Kiki and we were shocked by what was going on. Baron Praxis and Errol were speaking to none other than the Metal Head Leader himself on a communicator! I had to listen in, so I opened up the window just a tiny bit so I could listen in.

"I promise you that I will get your eco delivered on time when it happens next. We just hit a slight roadblock this time because of those Underground assholes," Praxis said to him.

"The deal can't be kept if the eco isn't delivered, my dear Baron. I grow tired of your puny gestures and your paltry eco supply! If you can't deliver the eco, then the city will be completely doomed. I promise a quick death if you don't come up with the eco we need," the Metal Head Leader said before he then cut the communications and Errol then spoke.

"He's toying with us! Let me lead an assault on the nest! I can take him!" Errol exclaimed angrily.

"Patience, commander. No one has ever penetrated the Metal Head nest, you know that. I've seen what comes with such foolish plans," Praxis said as I then looked at Kiki and she had actually turned herself into her Metal Head form on her own via the button on the collar. "No! Strength is their weakness. We lull them into a false sense of security. We teach them to eat from our hands... and then... we move forward with the plan! Tell Ashelin to up her patrols! I want that tomb found!" Baron exclaimed at Errol.

"But your daughter has not been agreeable, as of late," Errol frowned.

"Peh! I'll see to that, one way or the other... and find that child! If you spent half as much time looking for that little brat as you do flirting with that mechanic girl, then maybe we'd have found him by now!" Baron exclaimed as I then saw that Kiki looked to be ready to sneeze. I instinctively held her nose shut and she sighed in relief... but only then did I feel a sneeze coming to me! And I couldn't hold it in as I sneezed loudly and immediately retreated out of sight as Errol and Praxis looked up at the windows and only then noticed that one of them was opened.

"Nice job, momma," Kiki smirked, me frowning at that.

"You've been hanging around Daxter too much, I can tell," I groaned, both of us going to the west and down some stairs... only to run into my asshole ex-husband.

"So, we have a rat in the walls, do we? A rat and its girl, it seems! Back for a few more Dark Eco treatments?! Then allow me to put you out of your misery!" Praxis exclaimed angrily as I got mad. He had the gall to threaten me with more treatments after turning me into a monster?! I decided I'd show just how much pain he had inflicted on me as I changed into my dark form, Kiki then doing the same thing and Praxis gawking at it, him immediately trying to fire bullets at Kiki and me!

"You want to mess with Sasha Nell? Then come at me with all you got!" I exclaimed angrily as I jumped up to Baron's cockpit, slamming my fists against the hard glass numerous times until he started to spin his machine around repeatedly, allowing Kiki to do something daring by clawing at the tendrils of the mech, which were all filled with blue eco! Baron's mech then started to smoke as I jumped off and landed on solid ground again as Baron barely escaped the mech's destruction in his flying pod.

"The Dark powers I gave you and Jak can't protect you forever! Since I made you, I can destroy you! We'll meet again soon, bitch!" Baron exclaimed at me as he then tried to escape, but I blasted his pod one final time with the Blaster just to get him to fly off course a bit, just to irritate him.

"He bad! Kiki no like him!" Kiki frowned as she then turned back into her cat ferret disguise and hopped back in the bag, me smiling at her.

"You're very brave, Kiki. I'm proud of you," I smiled at her as I then went down the elevator nearby and I found myself in the bottom level of the front of the palace. I then simply walked out of the front door with a smile on my face, the guards luckily not noticing me as I then got on a Zoomer and proceeded towards the Underground, hoping to finally get some shut-eye after the crazy day I'd had so far... only to get chewed out by Torn on my way over as he called me.

"Sasha, get your ass back here on the double! And bring Jak and the orange rat with you!" Torn exclaimed, me actually then getting a call from Jak after Torn hung up.

"What happened, Sasha? Because Errol called us angrily saying he needed to speak with us immediately. But all me and Dax did was get some artifacts from the temple," Jak frowned.

"Well... I'll tell everyone when we get back to base," I sighed, me meeting Jak at the front entrance to the Underground and us going inside to see Torn, Kor, and Mar together in the same room. Who was Mar? It was the name of the kid, named after the founder of Haven City by the former king, before Praxis dethroned him and banished him unfairly.

"The city's on high alert! What the hell'd you guys do?!" Torn exclaimed at us, Jak and Daxter getting defensive.

"Me and Dax didn't do anything. All we did was go get some artifacts from the Mountain Temple," Jak said.

"Really? Then why are the Krimzon Guard looking for a dangerous young male with blonde hair and a blue tunic, a rabid orange rat, a cat ferret with a high-tech collar, and Sasha Praxis herself?" Torn asked angrily, Mar pointing at me with a smile afterwards.

"Listen, I went up to the Baron's palace via one of the support towers and... I accidentally got into a fight with him," I frowned, Torn getting mad at me.

"WHAT?! I didn't authorize an attack on the-" he was about to say before I cut him off.

"Hey, me and Kiki kicked his butt! But he escaped soon after... but that's not the important thing I wanted to mention. Kiki and I actually overheard a secret meeting between Baron Praxis, Errol, and the leader of the Metal Heads!" I said with seriousness, Torn and Kor gasping at that.

"You saw the Metal Head leader?" Kor asked in shock.

"Not really. He was on a communicator, but they were talking about the deal with eco. Baron's trying to bribe the Metal Heads with eco, which we're trying to prevent him from doing," I said.

"Hmph, it'll never be enough," Kor scoffed.

"But bad man plans trick on them," Kiki said.

"Is that right? Well, our Baron's natural charm must have angered someone, because it seems that Metal Head armies are on the move again," Kor said, me seeing that Mar looked a bit scared at that and me looking at Jak and Daxter with a frown.

"Look, I got us into this mess we're in right now, so I feel I should take full responsibility. But one last bit of news, Praxis plans on doing something with Ashelin if she doesn't follow orders from him, but I don't know what," I frowned.

"Well, if he was willing to sacrifice his own wife because of his mad delusions with the Dark Warrior Program, which was made to combat the Metal Heads, I highly worry about what he'd do to his daughter," Torn growled.

"Wait, Ashelin is the Baron's daughter?" Jak asked.

"THAT'S NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS!" Torn exclaimed at Jak angrily, me hushing him up and looking at Torn with seriousness.

"Okay, what do I need to do to get back in your good graces, Torn?" I asked.

"Well, since you just stirred up the Wumpbee's nest, you're going to have to get some of my men into new safe houses. Take all five of them to the locations they specify. And don't screw this up, Sasha," Torn said angrily, me nodding at that as I then looked at Jak and Daxter with a sigh.

"You two should probably get some rest here. It's almost midnight after all," I said, the duo nodding at that and me then going outside to do the last job I needed for the night.


	14. The Sacred Site's Surprise

**Chapter 14:**

After getting some much-needed shut-eye in a place that was actually cozy for a change instead of the constant coldness of the metal beds in the prison, I woke up to Sammie and Minnie shaking me awake at 8 in the morning and I groaned awake and saw that Daxter was trying to butter them up, but they weren't falling for his charm.

"Come on, ladies. Orange Lightning could be your lightning in a bottle," Daxter said before I grabbed him by the head and placed him on my shoulder.

"Thanks, Jak. He's extremely annoying," Sammie frowned.

"Oh, come on, sis. It does feel nice to be able to get flirted on by a guy, doesn't it? I mean, nobody ever flirts with us after all," Minnie smirked.

"Daxter's different, and that much is clear as day from his looks. Got it, Minnie?" Sammie frowned as we then got away from them and Daxter growled a bit.

"Easy tiger," I smiled at him as I went to meet with Torn and saw that Sasha was there as well, her looking to be pretty drained as well.

"Scouts have reported movement in Dead Town. You know, the place you got the banner from?" Torn said, me nodding at that and causing Sasha to wake up a bit more from that.

"Yeah, I remember," she said.

"The Metal Heads are moving towards the Sacred Site, just as before," Torn said grimly.

"What happened... eh... before?" Daxter asked.

"The old Shield wall system was breached by the Metal Heads and the Baron pulled back, leaving everyone outside of the new barrier to die. Only the Shadow stayed and somehow stopped the attack," Torn said, Sasha gawking at that.

"But that's impossible! One guy couldn't possibly be able to halt that massive an invasion! If I remember right, there were over a thousand Metal Heads attacking the city that day!" Sasha gawked.

"You see now why nobody can just up and meet the Shadow on the first day? Only the baddest of the bad can meet with him," Torn smirked.

"And let me guess. You expect us to go back out there, don't you?" I asked him.

"You catch on fast. If you can prevent the Metal Heads from reaching the Sacred Site, the Shadow will be most grateful. He may even ask to see you," Torn said, me smirking at that. Finally, I could get the big guy in charge to acknowledge me and Sasha! "Here, I'm probably wasting these, but take some Vulcan Barrels for those peashooters of yours. Believe me, you're gonna need 'em," Torn said as he gave me and Sasha the sweet weapon upgrade, me seeing it made the bullets become blue.

"Oh yeah! Vulcan Fury is my second favorite gun to play with! These things fire super fast for small, but lightning fast damage! Nothing but the speediest for bullets powered by Blue Eco," Sasha smiled widely as she kissed her gun, me smirking at that and for Torn to facepalm. We then proceeded out to the outside and grabbed a Zoomer, all of us going to the area of Dead Town in a two-seater with Sasha driving us. She was an expert at driving Zoomers, that much was for sure. And when we stopped at the entrance, Sasha then got a bright idea.

"You know, since the news has probably been broken all over about me getting to the Baron's palace, maybe it'd be wise for me to call up Keira so we can get the Jet Board?" Sasha suggested, me smiling at that.

"Good idea," I smiled at her as she then called Keira as we got outside of the shield walls and were immediately jumped by some scorpion-looking Metal Heads, who were very annoying with how fast they moved. But Sasha destroyed them all with just a single Scatter Gun shot.

"Hey, is that you, Sasha?" Keira responded on the communicator.

"Yep. Did you get the news about my daring stunt I did last night?" Sasha asked her.

"How couldn't I! It's all over the news. How the former Baroness sneaked onto the Palace's rooftops and attacked Baron Praxis!... And by news, I mean that Errol told me when I broke up with him. I didn't tell him a word about you two at all, I just told him that I didn't want to be with a man as cruel as he was. Errol simply left the garage after that," Keira said, me being worried at that. Somehow, I felt that Errol wouldn't be willing to just up and leave everything at peace.

"I don't think he'd be willing to just walk away from you. I overheard Baron speaking with him last night on the rooftops and Baron said that he spent more time flirting with you than he did looking for the heir to the city, who Baron wants to have killed," Sasha said.

"Really? Well, where are you at right now?" Keira asked as I then looked ahead and saw some grunt Metal Heads ahead of us.

"I'm in Dead Town right now. I think I'm going to join up with you at the Stadium, just to make sure everything's on the up and up," Sasha said as I then nodded at her and continued forward, taking out the grunts and then seeing a new Metal Head ahead of us that looked like bad news. It stood on two legs, was very tall and skinny, and it had a grenade sling on its hand filled with Dark Eco bombs.

"Maybe this'd be a good time to use that Vulcan barrel or whatever it's called," Daxter said, me smirking as I then cocked the gun to blue and then peppered the Metal Head with shot after shot until I was sure it wouldn't get back up, it taking at least 8 hits in total. I then hopped down there and got his Skull Gem before I noticed there were two more of the same kind of Metal Head near our next destination across some poisonous water. I then lit the two of them up like fireworks before I then went ahead and got jumped by some more Metal Scorpions, which I defeated with some Scatter Gun shots.

"Nice shootin'! I hope it's this easy from here on out," Daxter said as I jumped to the next level and immediately had to get to cover. Why? Because there was a Metal Head blocking our way who happened to have a rapid fire gun of his own! I waited until he had to reload and then peppered him with some Blaster shots, making the Metal Head fall down and allowing me to go forward. I continued to duck for cover a couple more times with more of those Metal Heads with repeater guns and taking out some more Grunts and Scorpions until Daxter and I eventually found something... something that shocked the two of us greatly. Standing right there, hidden in between all the ruined buildings in the poisonous water... was a sight that I never thought I'd see.

"Is that? Is that?! No it couldn't be... that's not," Dax gawked as I said the rest for him.

"It's... Samos's Hut..." I gawked, wondering just how this could happen. This whole time, I thought I'd entered an alternate reality, one where everyone was much crueler and where all the things I knew of before were gone... but clearly, with this old and dilapidated hut in front of us, still intact after all these years and it being considered a Sacred Site... it made me realize the impossible.

"But how? What? When?! Where?! WHY?!" Dax exclaimed consecutively before I said it.

"We're in the future, Dax... this... horrible place... is... our world!" I gawked, wondering just how this all could've happened... but then I remember. When I activated that Precursor Ring, all of those horrid abominations rushed through, including that giant talking one. There was no mistaking it. "And... we caused it..." I gawked, Daxter looking at me in worry.

"We? We caused it? How?" Daxter asked.

"When we activated the Rift Rider and the Precursor Ring... we let these creatures back to our timeline, including that big talking one, most definitely the Metal Head Leader... we did all this... and now the future has turned into this... a lawless hellhole with asshole rulers and horrid monstrosities..." I gulped.

"Jak," Daxter said as he slapped me across the face... or at least tried to. "Listen to me, bud! We didn't know about what the hell would happen that day! Even if we did cause it to happen, it's not like we meant for it to happen at all! Besides, if we did cause all this, then all the more reason to kill the Metal Head Leader! For all we know, all those people we met in our home timeline were killed by those Metal Heads! We need to take out the big baddie and I'm going to help you out with that!" Daxter said with grit and bravery, something I never saw in him before.

"Dax... when did you get this brave?" I asked him.

"Hunting for Metal Bugs and taking out their leader in Kaeden toughened me up a bit. All I need is a gun of my own at some point and then I can help out with the pain! Just give me something, anything, and I'll take out Metal Heads just as well as you can!" Dax said with bravery as I then smirked at him.

"Well, if you can talk the talk, maybe we can ask Torn or the Shadow to get you a unique weapon? Or maybe Krew could give you something, since he is a big gang lord," I smiled at him.

"I'd rather it be Torn than Krew. I don't wanna know where those guns have been or if he's ever used them before! I'd need to give that gun at least thirty different scrubbing sessions before you get me to use it!" Dax said, me smirking at that.

"Fine, I'll ask Torn when we get back. And I think it'd be wise for us to call him back," I said with a smile. I then did just that on our way back to the city, getting him on the line shortly and telling him of our success.

"Hehe, I'll tell the Shadow about this. And what about Sasha?" Torn asked.

"Well, Sasha actually went to go protect one of my old friends in case Errol tried anything nasty with her," I said, me then getting a Sasha on my line and her looking like she'd got into a pretty nasty fist fight with her left cheek getting a bit of a bloody mark and her actually having a bit of her hair missing.

"Oof, what happened, Sasha?" I asked her.

"As I expected, Errol showed up and tried to attack Keira with a slew of KG guards. But I got on the scene just in time and defeated them all with my Dark Form, forcing Errol to order a retreat... but before he got away, I pulled him from his Zoomer and started getting into a fistfight with him... now he has a broken knee and a few missing teeth while I got a bloody cheek and some singed hair from him trying to use a Blaster Shot at me... I barely dodged it in time," Sasha said, Torn smirking widely at that.

"That's also very impressive, I will admit! No one in the Underground has ever got Errol to order a retreat, let alone take him on in hand-to-hand combat and actually win! You think you can get back to the Underground together?" Torn asked with a smile.

"Sure, I can meet up. I gave Errol a very blatant and blunt statement about messing with Keira. If he comes back to do anything BUT race against us, then he's going to get even more broken than I already made him. I don't mean to brag, but I actually got him to cry like a baby," Sasha smiled.

"Haha! Bad guy big baby!" Kiki smiled from the communicator as well.

"Hehehe. Alright, I'll tell the Shadow to meet with both of you, then. When you get back, I'd say it'd be time for you to meet him in the flesh," Torn smiled, me grinning at that.

"Finally! We get to see the Shadow! Whaddaya gotta do around this place just to get noticed by someone!" Daxter complained after I cut the connection, making me smile at him.

"To be honest, I'm actually impressed with Sasha right now. If what she said is true, I have to see Errol in a cast! And I'd kill to see that pompous asshole cry like a baby!" I smiled. It was kind of bad that I was super happy about someone getting their ass whooped by a girl, but that's what he got for treating me and Sasha like trash for so long and torturing us for a year plus!


	15. Pain for Errol and Shadowy Confusion

**Chapter 15**

Once we met back up outside of the Underground hideout, Jak gave me a health pack to heal up my cheek, but I denied it with a smile on my face. "Those things can only heal broken bones, gunshots, and burn marks, guys. Besides, I'd rather keep my pain mark to show everyone I mean business," I smirked at them as I then had us go into the Underground hideout and saw that Torn was there with a smile in the main area.

"The Shadow has decided it's finally time to meet with you guys," Torn said as Jak then said something.

"Why is that Sacred Site so important? Just out of curiosity," he asked.

"There's something there that attracts the Metal Heads. Besides, it's a landmark that's been around for a long time," Torn said.

"No kidding, we used to know the guy who lived there," Jak said as I looked behind Torn and saw something... odd. It was a guy that looked a lot like it was a younger version of what Jak described Samos to look like, who was Keira's father and a sage of Green Eco... but he didn't look as old as Jak described. He looked very young, in fact.

"So you're the new recruits who keep running into trouble, eh?" Samos asked as Jak and Dax looked shocked and disappointed respectfully.

"Oh no, not you!" Dax said as the Shadow then spoke.

"Welcome to our humble Underground movement. I am known as the Shadow. But you can call me Samos. And you are?" Samos introduced himself before I spoke up.

"Excuse me, mister Samos, but I feel I need to say something here... Jak told me a lot about his past while me and him were in prison together and he mentioned a guy named Samos over and over again... but you look like a way more younger version of the Samos he mentioned. The one Jak and Daxter are familiar with is a much older version, but the description does match you somewhat. Log in the head, green skin, wooden shoes... the only thing I'm confused on is where the older version could be... or if you possibly became younger during Jak and Daxter's trip through the Rift Ring," I said, Samos looking a bit confused at that.

"It does sound a bit convoluted when you put it like that... but I think I may know how to find that answer out. You say you work on the Eco team with the KG as a spy, right? Well, why not go do your job for the day and ask around a bit? I'm sure someone would be dumb enough to blab if they saw an old guy who has green skin," Samos said, me smirking at that.

"You know what? I think that's pretty good for a start! Okay, I'm going to go and report for duty. Besides, I need to be gone anyways. Here, Jak, you can play with this while I'm gone. And watch over Kiki too, okay?" I smiled at him as I gave him the Jet Board and I went to change into my KG outfit in the bedding areas, where I saw that Sammie and Minnie were there and they looked at me in worry when they saw my pain marks.

"What happened, Sasha? You look like you got tenderized like a Yakow steak," Sammie gawked.

"I got in a fight with Errol. But you should see what I did to him. Broken kneecap, missing teeth, made him cry like a baby. It was awesome," I smirked, Minnie smiling at that.

"I'd pay big money to see that fight," she admitted.

"I would too," Sammie giggled. I then got my KG outfit on and proceeded out of the Underground, me then going to the Air Train and meeting with the guy in charge of it.

"Where to, Nipper?" the KG guy asked me.

"To da Eco Drill Platform, please," I said in my accent, the location being where the Eco Team always worked at. I then decided it'd be wise to ask this guy, since he was in charge of the Air Train, which also had people going to the Fortress on the regular. "Just a quick question, but do ya know of anyone in dis city that looks very old with green skin on 'em? Someone that's got a log for a head an' wears wooden shoes?" I asked, the guy then chuckling a bit at that.

"Yeah, we actually do have someone like that currently in the Fortress. He's an old coot and he's actually very good with Green Eco, almost as if he's a Sage or something. The Baron keeps him at the Fortress as a means of getting the KG units healed up as well as any prisoners," the guy said, me smirking at that as I then sent the message to Torn about a new thing I'd have to do at some point. What did my message read out as?

"Found out where the older version of Samos is. He's locked up in the Fortress and being forced to heal the KG and prisoners with his Green Eco powers. Find someone to go free the old codger... unless you'd like me to do it instead when my duties are done for the day," I said in the text as I then put the communicator on vibrate for Torn only and I then arrived at the Drill Platform's lower portions to see that the drill was excavating a lot of Dark Eco today and that it was being filled into the different containers and barrels by the guards, just as it was like before.

"Time to get back to work with this stuff," I smiled in character as I then proceeded to help out in the field, wondering what the duties would entail.

* * *

_I had never felt so humiliated more than when Sasha, the treasonous wife of Praxis, managed to beat my body to the point where I was reduced to a crying mess... and all for that mechanic girl who broke up with me? There was no doubt in my mind that the two of them were in cahoots, but I couldn't go back... not after that warning Sasha left me with._

_"If I ever see you here for anything BUT racing, you are going to be begging for mercy from the beating I'll give you for what you did to me and Jak in that fucking chair!" she yelled at me only after breaking my leg and after making me lose at least three teeth and making me bruised and bloody all over. And not only did she beat me to a pulp, but she also hurt my men with her Dark Form... that was the most surprising thing to see. That the Dark Warrior Program was a success... but it was obvious that we neglected to do hypnosis because she and Jak were rebellious and unpredictable._

_"Rgh... I need to report to the Baron... as much as I don't want to," I groaned as I limped my way to the Palace with my leg having been put in a splint made from empty guns and I then made my way inside of it and to Praxis's throne room, where he looked at me in utter shock._

_"Commander Errol? What happened to you?" Baron asked me in shock._

_"I... got into a very nasty encounter with the rebel Sasha," I admitted with chagrin and hurt pride, Baron looking at me in shock afterwards._

_"How did she defeat you in battle?..." Baron asked._

_"The Dark Warrior Program didn't fail on her or Jak... they gained immense power from the Dark Eco injections... Sasha destroyed a bunch of my men while I was at the Stadium and beat me senseless with her bare hands... I only managed to get one punch in and only able to fire a single blast, but she powered through the punch and only her hair got singed from the shot... my pride is forever shattered," I said sadly._

_"Commander, it would be wise if we were to formulate a new plan about this whole ordeal... I think I have one in mind, but we'll need to wait until they can uncover the Tomb of Mar. I have no doubt in my mind that those two can find it easier than I could. And when they do find it, I'll enact this plan and I expect you to assist as well," Praxis said, me nodding at that and bowing as best I could._

_"Of course, your excellency," I said as I then hobbled my way back out of the Palace and made plans to go meet with the old coot in the prison. I needed to get healed up for my big race after all._


	16. Saving Samos and Protecting a Prince

**Chapter 16**

After the... younger Samos... met with me and the group, he insisted that he inspect Kiki just because of the fact that she was a Metal Head and that she was loyal to me and Sasha while I went to Haven Forest to chase down and defeat some Metal Head Scouts, which were fully grown versions of Kiki.

"Kiki, stay safe and listen to Samos and Torn, okay?" I said, Kiki smirking at that.

"Yaya!" she smiled as she then turned herself into her Metal Head form as Daxter and I left the place and proceeded out to Haven Forest. And after getting all the Metal Head Scouts (which was very tedious, since they flew pretty fast around the place and always evaded me, much like Sasha said they did. Lovers, not fighters.), I then called it in to Samos on the way back.

"Well done, you two! Okay, I learned something from Sasha about the whereabouts of an older version of myself. He's currently held in the Fortress. I've got Vin to agree to have you warp to the prison via the teleporter at the Power Station during the guards' rotations at 10 on the nose. You'll need to be quick when doing this, since the rotations last a grand total of 5 minutes," the Shadow said, me smirking at that and looking at Daxter afterwards. It was currently 9:30, so we had to book it to the Power Station. I immediately got us out of the forest and back into the city. I then decided that I'd go ahead and do something very daring just to get attention of the guards away from the Fortress. What did I do? I hijacked and took control of a KG Zoomer, which got the guards to start chasing me through the streets and them attacking me with tons of guns until I got to the Power Station, where I managed to lose them beforehand by only five minutes and I knew they'd be scrambling to try and find me.

"Alright Vin, what's the time?" I asked the guy that Sasha rightfully nicknamed Nervous Twitchy.

"It's 9:59 right now. You should probably wait until 10 on the nose which will be in... three.. two... one! Go through it, now and be quick about it!" Vin said, me nodding at that and rushing into the warp gate and appearing back in the room that I dreaded seeing. The room where Sasha and I were constantly experimented on with Dark Eco. I then went around to each of the cells and looked in each one to see if Samos was in any of them. And wouldn't you know it, but I saw Samos in the next room of cells and he was being met with by none other than Errol. No doubt to try and heal up his busted leg. I then simply threw a Scatter Gun bullet down at the ground by Errol and he looked confused by the sound before I then shot the Scatter Gun bullet with the Blaster, the explosion managing to make Errol fly to the wall on the other side from the blast and him exclaiming in agony afterwards as I then grabbed onto Samos and he looked at me in shock.

"Great Yakow bones! It's about time you got here, Jak! But what the hell happened to you?!" Samos asked me angrily, Daxter groaning afterwards.

"Nice to see you too, Grampa Green," Daxter frowned as I had us go back through the portal and, the moment I got through, I then told Vin a few words that needed said.

"Turn the one off in the prison, NOW!" I exclaimed, Vin doing just that very frantically.

"W-Why'd you yell?!" Vin asked in shock.

"Errol was trying to get his leg healed by this guy because Sasha broke his kneecap. I managed to jump him and get him away from me, but he did notice me there regardless," I said with a serious frown.

"He's right. I was forced to try and use my Green Eco for numerous members of the Krimzon Guard and other prisoners. I've been in there for 3 years now... but what happened to you, Jak?" Samos asked me. I sighed and hung my head as Daxter explained.

"He got arrested for no reason and then was injected with Dark Eco for 2 straight years. I managed to bust him and his cellmate out of the prison," Daxter said with a smile.

"Peh, I highly doubt that you'd be the one to save him, Daxter," Samos said with a frown.

"Well, it's actually true. Dax spent 2 years trying to find out where I was... ironically, it seems you and Keira were sent a year or two before Dax and I appeared here," I said with a smile.

"You say my daughter's still alive? Where is she?" Samos asked.

"She's at the Stadium section of the city. She actually managed to revolutionize the Zoomer technology in the city since she got here," I smiled happily.

"Alright, I think that I'd like an escort over there, if that would be allowed," Samos smiled.

"Okay, I'll escort the old guy," said none other than Sasha as she appeared from the front door of the Power Station with a smile.

"And who is this? Is this that cellmate that Daxter mentioned?" Samos asked.

"Not only that, but I was also married to that asshole Baron... and then when I found out what he was doing to Jak and a whole slew of other prisoners, I told him to put me in the program and that we were officially divorced... luckily, it seems Jak and I were able to be more durable test subjects due to us having Light Eco in our bloodstreams. He told me a lot of stories about you guys and that other world you came from," Sasha smirked.

"Well... it's not really another world we came from..." I said with a sigh.

"Huh? What do you mean, Jak?" Sasha asked.

"Well... this world is actually... our world... in the far future," I said, Sasha gawking at that.

"So... that Precursor Ring and Rift Rider... you used them to travel through time, then! I do have to wonder, though, what year it was back in your timeline as opposed to this one," Sasha said as Samos then spoke.

"It was the year 1424 whenever we activated and went through that Precursor Ring," Samos said.

"Really? Well, this year we're in right now is 3421. That means we're almost 2 thousand years advanced in technology from you guys," Vin smirked.

"So how did you find out that we were in the future anyways, Jak?" Samos asked in curiosity.

"We found your old hut in Dead Town outside the city walls. It's the only thing still standing from Sandover Village," I said with a sigh, Samos sighing at that.

"Um... ahem," Sasha said, getting our attention to her. "I don't mean to be a buzz kill, but I need to get Samos over to Keira's garage now. And good thing too, because Keira managed to make me a duplicate Jet Board using her schematics to make the Prototype you have. Besides, I got a job from that slob Krew, telling me to go to the Port and destroy some Krimzon Guard supply crates. And I need that Jet Board to do it... so... come on, Samos the Sage," Sasha smirked, Samos smirking at that as he then floated off the ground like he used to back in the days, though I could tell he could barely do it. Probably because this world was less full of Green Eco in the air than in the past.

I then went out on my own and then got a call from the Shadow version of Samos.

"Jak, I have a job for you to do back at the Underground. Come around, would you?" he asked, me smirking at that.

"Let's get going, Dax," I smiled at him as we then proceeded to the Underground hideout and we saw that the Shadow was outside of the Hideout with the kid and Kiki playing around next to him. And from what Sasha had mentioned to me in the past, this kid was actually the former prince of the city before Praxis dethroned the original king.

"Hey there," I said, the Shadow smiling at me.

"Hello, yourself. I want you two to escort the kid over to Kor at the Power Station. He promised he'd look after him and I'm just too busy to babysit right now. And take your Kiki friend with you," the Shadow smiled as he then went to pet her and Kiki hissed at him, which actually surprised me as I then picked her up and she frowned.

"Me no like him. He poke Kiki too much," Kiki said with a frown, me then having her go into my backpack and me looking at the Shadow with a smile.

"She didn't really like being inspected by me," the Shadow said, me deciding to change the subject.

"Sasha said this kid is actually the heir to Haven City, right? How would that be?" I asked him.

"That amulet around his neck is the symbol of Mar, the founder of Haven City. I found him on the streets wearing it, so he's surely the lost heir. Take the kid to the Power Station and I'll be grateful... and so you know, that Kiki is getting a bit hungry and tried to gnaw at my log on my head. It may be wise to get her some food," the Shadow said as the kid then went off and I had to chase after him... and good thing, too, because the KG immediately tried to grab him when he came around the corner, me needing to protect him from them as the guards tried to attack him, but I got to them first and proceeded to beat them with my fists and guns, me needing to do this for a good bit until the kid managed to get into a two-seated Zoomer and I followed after, driving the two of us forward the whole way to the Power Station as the KG tried to chase us, me managing to lose them by the time I got to the Power Station. We then went into it and I smiled at Kor being there.

"The Shadow told us to bring the kid to you," Daxter said to the old man.

"Thank you. I'll be sure to keep him close," Kor said as Kiki stuck her tongue out at him and he smirked at her.

"It is very interesting to see a Metal Head that follows humans instead of its own kind, to be bluntly honest," Kor admitted, Kiki hissing at him as well.

"I guess she doesn't like you either," I smiled.

"I hope we have enough eco to keep the Metal Heads at bay. During my travels in the deep Wastelands, I encountered some of the bigger ones. Awesome creatures!" Kor said with seriousness.

"We saw a big one coming out of a rift, once. He was UUUUGLY!" Daxter said with enthusiasm, Kor scoffing at that.

"I have another task for you. The Baron is currently having an excavation at the Dig. He is still looking for that ridiculous tomb. I for one don't even think it exists, but you might as well go there and thwart it regardless. Knock down all the scaffolding at the site and that should set him back. Take this Air Train pass to get there," Kor said as the kid then gave me the pass and I smiled at it.

"Thanks, kid," I smiled at him as I then went outside and decided I would give Kiki something from my pocket, it being a health pack that had green eco in it. Kiki immediately devoured the entire health pack in one sitting, her giggling afterwards happily.

"Thanks, dada," Kiki smiled at me as we then went down towards the Air Train, wondering what would await us at the Dig.


	17. Bazaar Brawls

**Chapter 17**

After I gave Keira and Samos a tearful reunion, I then got the Prototype Jet Board and took out all of the Krimzon Guard crates in the Port's waters, which was harder than I thought, considering that the crates were actually protected by bombs and they had alarms go off on the crates after I got the first couple. I managed to get all of them regardless and then went back to the Hip Hog Heaven Saloon to see that a KG officer was leaving and he didn't recognize me, thank god.

"The Baron sent his goons to harass me as usual, eh? Health violations, back taxes! Everyone wants a piece of me! Ah well," Krew said with a groan, me smirking at that.

"Well, I don't think anyone would want a piece of you... all those pit stains and extra layers of chub would really gross most people out," I said to him with a smile, Krew smirking at that.

"Destroying that cargo in the port was more important than you know, eh! I've got a new project going and I don't need those guards snooping around my shipments. Let's just say that, if all goes as planned, I'm going to corner the market in Metal Head trophies! Hahaha!" Krew said, me smirking at that.

"Sounds interesting, if I say so," I smiled at him.

"Anyways, I have another task for you, Sasha dear. An associate of mine, Brutter works with me in the forced labor trade," Krew said, me frowning at that.

"Brutter, as in, the Brutter that runs the fish stand at the Bazaar? The same Brutter that happens to be a Lurker?" I asked, Krew smirking and nodding at that.

"Yes, that's him. Lurkers are the city's low-class labor. The Baron captures Lurkers and uses them for projects in and outside of the city and Brutter pays me handsomely to help free the Lurkers... oh, it does my heart wonders to help those in need... and I need his money!" Krew said, me frowning at that.

"No offense, but I don't think your heart is at all healthy... too much weight can do that to your heart," I said, Krew smirking at that.

"Heh, you use good reasoning. Take these gun upgrades for this task. One for you and one for your boyfriend. Go out and find the Lurker Transports that are in the Bazaar area of the city, free the Lurkers inside of them, and take them to Brutter's stand in the Bazaar," Krew said, me smirking at that.

"Done deal," I smiled at him as I then went out the door and got a Zoomer, going towards the first Lurker Transport in the area by the statue of Mar, me shooting it down with only 5 Blaster rounds and the Lurker escaping from the coming blast.

"Come on, bud! Time to get to Brutter's!" I exclaimed, the KG already starting to attack me with everything they had as I drove down the streets with the Lurker aboard my Zoomer. And when I say everything, I meant everything. Their long-range sniper shots, the Zoomers and Hellcats, and even a couple of guards using grenade launchers fueled by Dark Eco bullets! I managed to get this Lurker to safety and then I got the next two while the guards continued to give me trouble, though I did manage to get them off of my back on the way to get the final Lurker back to Brutter's place, me going there and Brutter smiling at me.

"Pretty female warrior, you have do great thing for Brutter and all Lurker peoples!" Brutter smiled at me as he hugged me with his furry body and proceeded to kiss me on the cheeks, which felt a bit weird, to be honest.

"Easy, Brutter, I'm already taken," I smiled at him.

"Oh, so sorry! You great girl! Brutter pay you back, no problem, you'll see!" Brutter smiled widely as I then got a call from Ashelin... on my KG communicator. I answered it and Ashelin looked at me in surprise.

"Oh! Sasha? I forgot that you were the new recruit named Nipper," Ashelin said in a hushed manner, me smirking at that.

"Nice to hear from you, hon. So what're you callin' me for?" I asked in my fake accent in case she was near some guards.

"I need some backup in the shopping arcade underneath the raised highway to the east of the Bazaar. I'll explain when you get here," Ashelin said, me doing just that but not even bothering to get a disguise on aside from me getting a hat on my head that I took from a nearby shop (without paying for it) and a pair of sunglasses on my face. I then got to the area Ashelin described and spoke to her.

"Hey, Ashelin," I smiled, a guard aiming his gun at me before Ashelin eased him.

"Good thing you showed up, Nipper. Vin got a call from an Eco Tanker that's meeting up here, but the transmission sounded fishy," Ashelin said.

"Then I'll help you out," I smiled at her as the Eco Tanker then came in... but not regularly. It slammed into the ground with tons of barrels of Eco getting exploded all over, all filled with Dark Eco as the guards pretty much got knocked out from the blasts except for me and Ashelin. And guess what came out of the Eco Tanker?

"DAMMIT! Metal Head sneak attack! Let's get 'em, Ashelin!" I exclaimed, her nodding as I proceeded to demolish the Metal Heads with my gun skills as well as swiping my dark eco claws across their faces when they tried to attack. I managed to defeat 40 Juice Goons while Ashelin got 10 of them, but there were also some Metal Head Grunts that came out, which were much easier to deal with as I got rid of 20 of them and Ashelin didn't get any... though that did mean I got low on bullets big time.

"Nice shooting... those Metal Heads are getting bolder every day! It's like they're toying with us and messing with us just because they can... ugh... thanks for helping out, momma Sasha," Ashelin said to me with a smile, since there were no more guards around from the explosion... at least any that were awake or alive.

"You're welcome, Ashelin... by the way, if you speak to Jak again and he asks you if I'm your mom, tell him the truth and tell him that I'm way too young to be your mom, okay?" I smiled, Ashelin smirking at that.

"I can handle that," Ashelin smiled at me. I then decided it'd be wise to call up Jak to see how he and the pets were doing. And when I got him on the heard, what was the first thing I heard? A massive explosion!

"Jak! Are you okay?! I heard a large explosion just now!" I exclaimed, Jak then answering soon after.

"Yeah, we're okay, Sasha. We just destroyed the Baron's large excavation drill at the Dig and Kiki's been eating some of the Dark Eco that spilled from the barrels nearby... and she actually grew a bit in size. Now she can't fit in the bag anymore," Jak said, me being surprised at that.

"Really? Well, sounds like Kiki has reached the Juvenile stage, then! After eating a certain amount of eco, a Metal Head will grow in power and size until they reach adulthood. My guess is that Kiki got to the next stage of life after gorging on the eco we've been giving her. So where are you heading to now?" I asked him.

"I was going to head off to Krew's place. He called me on the way over here and he wants me and Dax to get something for him," Jak said.

"How about we meet up halfway at the Air Train's get-off point? Because I want to look after Kiki for a bit," I smiled, Jak agreeing afterwards and me then going to the Air Train pad and Jak reaching it with a smile on his face and I saw that Kiki... was actually looking much different. She wasn't wearing her collar, so she was able to be seen by all... but something was drastically different with her. What was it? She looked much more... well, human-like! She looked a lot like she was a human with dark grey skin and black hair done into dual pigtails... and that she looked like she was a 12 year old in appearance.

"Um... explanation would be appreciated, Jak," I said, simply baffled at Kiki, especially since she decided to opt for clothing that matched me and Jak that I could see were actually projected on her and not actual clothes.

"Don't look at me, this is what she turned into after she grew in size," Jak said as Kiki then walked over to me and hugged me, which I didn't expect.

"I'm just like you now, mommy. That's how Metal Heads work, remember?" Kiki asked, me only then realizing what was going on.

"Ah, now I got it! Because you were connected to both me and Jak from birth, you gained our traits when you grew older! Surprising, I will admit," I smirked as I then gave the gun upgrade to Jak and he smirked at it. "From Krew," I smiled as I then held Kiki's hand and had us go over to a two-seated Zoomer and we got inside of it. "We're going to go and find something to do while you and Dax go meet with Krew," I smiled, Jak nodding at that as I then got a call from Vin.

"I need you at the Power Station, Sasha, right now! It's urgent!" Vin said, me smirking at that.

"Copy that, Sasha Nell and Kiki are coming over effective immediately... oh, and by the way, Vin, you don't need to be afraid of Kiki anymore because, despite her still being a Metal Head, she no longer looks anything like one," I smiled.

"What does that mean?" Vin asked.

"You'll find out when we get there," I smirked.


	18. The Race and the Seal Piece Assault

**Chapter 18**

After me and Daxter witnessed firsthand Kiki's transformation, it really shocked the both of us. The fact that Kiki turned into a humanoid form of a little girl after she became older from getting more eco in her body... it was so shocking, I decided I'd have Sasha join in on the shock just for kicks and giggles, which I was all smiles during her surprise before she then smiled wider than ever. It was like we had a kid and it just skipped the entire baby stage and into the tween years.

It was all fun, but you know what wasn't? Having to go through the sewers again to find a statue that Krew lost down there and we had to get the Ruby Key in its grasp. And after Dax and I got it and after I left the sewers, I then got a transmission from Keira. "Hey, Jak? It's Keira. There's a Class 3 Race about to happen in the Stadium and I want you to come and race for the team. I tried to get Sasha to join, but she's busy at the Drill Platform doing stuff for the Underground," Keira said, me smirking at that. Most likely the shipment of eco that needed destroyed.

"Alright, I'll be over in a jiffy. When does the race start?" I asked her.

"It starts in an hour. But I wanted to talk to you a bit before you go race," Keira said, me smiling at that.

"Sure, I have time," I smirked as I then hung up and drove over to the Stadium and entered Keira's garage, seeing that she was polishing one of her trophies that she had.

"You won some races before?" I asked her with a smile.

"Yeah, I did. I won at least 15 different races, though I could never defeat Errol in the Class One races," Keira smiled as we then sat down and started to talk for a bit.

"I wanted to let you know that Errol hasn't given me anymore trouble since Sasha dealt with him. But I did also want to mention that... well... when she went all feral and turned into her dark form... she was absolutely gruesome. She did not hold back at all on the invading KG and she managed to get me to safety after getting me away from the guards, who were about to arrest me for something I never even did before, assaulting Errol. But if you ask me, Sasha did enough of an assault to hurt Errol's pride big time. I mean, she defeated over 100 different KG guards and actually managed to absolutely trounce Errol in hand-to-hand combat! It honestly both impressed and terrified me at the same time to see how much blood she spilled..." Keira admitted, me smiling at that.

"Well, after both of us were arrested for false reasons or none at all, I'm not surprised they'd try the same thing with you. They even did it for Samos, too... but so you know, about us working for Krew? We're only doing it because he has good connections and he's giving us guns to help out in defeating the Baron for some odd jobs," I said, Keira sighing at that.

"Yeah, Sasha said that was the case as well, but I just don't like him... he's very creepy, same with a bunch of other people here," Keira said, me about to speak before I heard the voice of the creepy guy himself.

"Jak, my boy... I need that Ruby Key that you found. A special client has requested it," Krew said, me smiling at that.

"Sorry, Krew. It must've slipped my mind," I smiled as I then gave him the key and he smirked at it.

"Right..." Krew said as I then decided to pop the question, since Dax nudged my shoulder.

"Oh, and by the way, Dax here was hoping to get a gun of his own... preferably one that hasn't been touched by you. You got anything?" I asked, Krew frowning at that and Keira then appearing from behind me and giving Daxter something surprising.

"What's this?" Dax asked when he held the strange looking gun in hand. It looked a lot like it had green ammo in it and it looked pretty unique. It was shaped like a highly advanced pistol with the barrel being shaped like a cone as well. Dax then decided to blast it at the nearby wall and we were shocked that the stuff that came out was actually a blast of Green Eco that was almost like a long-range laser that could fire continuously!

"Did you make this gun, Keira?" I asked her as Dax smiled at the gun he now was able to use and Krew smirked.

"Yeah, I did. Perks of being the daughter of a Green Eco Sage. I was able to take a bunch of health packs and use them to create a very special gun. This gun never needs a refuel on ammunition and it can fire for up to 15 seconds long. But it does need a recharge after it gets fired, thankfully for the same amount of time you fired for. So long as you don't constantly overheat it, this gun could prove to be even tougher than Krew's special Peacemaker," Keira smirked, giving Krew a glare afterwards and him smiling at that.

"She learned how to design the gun from me, then she simply used her eco powers to... mmm... infuse it with a continuous green eco flow... the only downside is that the gun can't be modified, unlike the Morph Guns I gave to you and Sasha, eh?" Krew said, me smirking at that as I then heard the announcements on the computer.

"Attention all citizens. The Class 3 Race is about to begin," the computer said, me then grabbing Dax and both of us rushing out to the race track, Krew simply leaving the garage soon after and me then getting in my racing Zoomer, where I saw it was actually designed to be a very dangerous, yet fast Zoomer. It had turbo capabilities, a very narrow and long design, and it looked ready to tear up the competition! The lights then started to flash and I immediately floored the pedal when the light turned green, me and Dax flying off the starting line and hopping over the racer next to us to get in the lead and pick up a Nitro cell. I then set it off at the start of a big jump and smiled widely at how far we flew and then right into a turn! And in this next area, there was a very clear shortcut across a pit of spikes that I decided to take, me clearing it effortlessly as I then continued for the rest of the lap... one lap down, 4 to go and all the racers behind me were at least 5 seconds behind or more! I ran unopposed for the rest of the race, though I did accidentally bump into the walls a couple of times, not once did it slow me down.

I finished the race and got the trophy for doing so, it being a bit hefty despite it's size and it actually coming with some Precursor orbs, since I defeated the Silver Record during the race! "When is this city gonna provide some challenge, huh?" Daxter smiled widely at it. And then I saw Ashelin appear from nearby, her looking at me with a smile.

"Hey, I watched you race out there. You were pretty fast," Ashelin said, me smiling at her.

"Thanks. Keira, this is Ashelin. She's-" I was about to say before Keira then spoke.

"I know, she's the Baron's daughter and Sasha's stepdaughter," Keira smiled.

"And Ashelin, this is Keira, she's-" I was about to say before Keira interrupted again.

"A friend," Keira said, Ashelin sighing at that and her looking at me with a smile.

"Anyways, I thought I should mention this, but Sasha isn't my biological mother. I was about 15 when she married my father. But she treats me as if I were her daughter, so I always call her momma Sasha, just out of respect," Ashelin smiled.

"Y'know my offer still stands, ladies. Orange Lightning here could go for a kiss at anytime," Daxter smiled, making the air immediately awkward for all of us.

"Hey, slow down, Dax. Remember rule number one. I don't date animals," Keira said, her using the same line back in our own timeline at Daxter's flirting.

"And my offer still stands to raise your voice a couple of octaves," Ashelin smiled at Dax, him then instinctively hopping on my shoulder and me smirking at that.

"Easy, girls. And Dax, time and place, okay?" I said, Dax pouting at that as Ashelin then walked ahead and sighed.

"I'm not my father, you know... ever since I was a little girl, I always looked out at the city from the top of that ridiculous palace... and imagined a better place... by the way, they're hunting for you. I'd watch out for Errol. Even if he does have a busted knee, I can't protect you from him," Ashelin said as she then went forward again and I nodded at that, seeing that there were some KG outside the door to the garage and I simply had to be patient and wait for them to leave.

"Well, that happened... I didn't expect that even she hated Praxis," I admitted.

"Considering what he did to her momma Sasha, I'd say she's well-inclined to hate her dad right now," Dax said with a grim attitude.

"I'm gonna go ahead and continue working on my secret project for now, Jak. You should probably go and do something for the Underground in the meantime," Keira said, me nodding at that as I then walked out of the Stadium and got a call on my communicator from a number I didn't recognize.

"Hello?" I asked into it. And then a very annoying voice came on the other end.

"Oh, it Brudder Jak, friend of female warrior Sasha! Me Brutter and have something for you," the voice on the other side said, me being confused at that.

"Brutter? How's it goin', bud! How's the fishery been since I last went there?" Dax asked into it.

"OOH! Little orangey warrior! Brutter been doing good since you eliminate pesky bugs from fish freezing plant! Brutter have shiny thing as payment for Sasha help earlier, but she busy in Haven Forest with important assignment to destroy invisible Metal Headers. Brutter have shiny piece of seal in Brutter hut in Water Slums. Gift from Brutter to Brudder Jak and Orangey Wariror!" Brutter said, me smirking at that as I then looked at Daxter and smiled at him.

"Got it, we're gonna go find it, Brutter," I said as I then hung up and looked at Dax as I got us a Zoomer. "You know that guy?" I asked him.

"Yeah, I do. Brutter is a fisherman and runs a fish cooking shack in the Bazaar... he's also a filthy Lurker that talks like a weirdo, but he's very nice when you get to know him," Daxter said, me smirking at that.

"A Lurker, huh? I wonder how many of them are around since our excursions in the past?" I asked, Daxter holding his hands in a shrug afterwards. I then proceeded to the Water Slums and found the old hut that looked like it belonged to Brutter, it having hay at the top of it for a roof and me finding the seal on the door. I then picked it up and I called up the unknown number and told Brutter we got the seal piece.

"Oh, you like shiny seal piece, huh? All yours!" Brutter smiled as I then heard some whirring noises and looked behind me. It was big trouble in the form of multiple KG guard transports! "Uh-oh! I think red troopers approaching!" Brutter gawked as I then put the seal piece in my bag and proceeded to go forward with Dax, him deciding to join in on the action and start shooting his gun at the guards as well as the transports, as they had heat-seeking guns on their undersides that tried to hone in on us! And after shooting it at the guns directly, it actually managed to make them explode and cause the transports to actually retreat for each one destroyed like this while I took out the guards on the ground, making sure the citizens didn't get hurt during the crossfire. I did manage to get nicked in the ear by a guard's shot, but I gritted my teeth and took out every last one of them until I got through on the other side and grabbed a Zoomer, me hightailing it out of the place immediately after as a bunch of guards got on my tail! And only then did I get a call from Shadow Samos.

"Jak, I want you to join me at Onin's Hut in the Bazaar. Bring Daxter with you, too," the Shadow said, me deciding it best to lose the guards before I went there, me managing to do so, though it wasn't really easy. I was only able to escape their line of sight after I hid myself behind some crates full of food in the shopping arcade, the guards scrambling to find me and simply giving up soon after. Only when they were all out of the place did I emerge from my hiding spot and run into Sasha, who smiled at me with Kiki right by her side.

"Well, looks like you got a case of the munchies, didn't you?" Sasha asked, me smirking at her with a glare.

"Haha, very funny. So what have you two been up to?" I asked them.

"Well, we took out an Eco transport ship that was going to deliver Eco for the Metal Head deal and Kiki and I also obliterated 30 invisible Metal Heads in Haven Forest, which was made much easier due to Kiki having heat vision when she closes her fake eyelids," Sasha smiled.

"Fake eyelids?" I asked, Kiki then giggling and demonstrating, the eyelids in question actually being able to be seen, but they were translucent and almost a green hue.

"Perks of being a Scout. I can see any faintest movement with these special lenses," Kiki smiled as we then decided to go visit the Shadow at Onin's tent together.


	19. Hellcat Slaughter and Praxis's Plan

**Chapter 19**

Once I met back up with Jak, we all four went to Onin's tent to meet with the Shadow and the old woman... and Pecker as well, who was very unique in appearance. He looked part monkey and part macaw, which brought a smile to my face. Though I could tell that all three of them were surprised by Kiki's appearance when they saw her.

"Um... who is this? Is she another Dark Warrior subject?" the Shadow asked as I smirked at him and shook my head no.

"Nope, this is the Juvenile form of Kiki," I smirked, the group being surprised at that before the Shadow smiled.

"Ah, I see. Because she merged personalities with you and Jak, she was able to meld her more adult forms to look like you do... very interesting," the Shadow smiled. "Anyways, Onin is very proud of what you did, Jak," the Shadow smiled.

"What I did?" Jak asked in confusion as well as me being equally confused.

"What you did, what you'll do... it's all the same," Pecker smiled as Kiki smirked.

"No, but in all seriousness, what did daddy do?" Kiki asked.

"Ugh, he defeated a whole slew of Krimzon Guards in the Slums area of the city without any civilian casualties, got it?" Pecker groaned, me smirking at that and kissing Jak on the lips for that, him being a bit surprised afterwards with his cheeks blushing and Kiki giggling at him.

"So anyways, we wanted to let you know that we need to find the Tomb of Mar and we think we know how to start the search for it," the Shadow said as I smiled.

"The Tomb of Mar, huh? And what's so special about it?" I asked.

"Onin says, the Tomb of Mar is the resting place of the fabled Precursor Stone. It is a very powerful artifact made by the Precursors and hidden inside of the tomb to protect it from the Metal Heads. It can be used for great good... or... great eeeevil! Haha! I just love saying that last part!" Pecker smiled.

"The Baron wants the Precursor Stone to rule the world, but he's playing with forces he does not understand. And we believe the kid is the key to finding a way into the Tomb," the Shadow said.

"Okay, so how do we get this Precursor Stone?" Jak asked, the Shadow then answering that question.

"First you must go to the Dig site and find the ancient Lurker Totem. A piece to the Seal of Mar is said to be held within its ancient carvings," he said, me nodding at that as Daxter then gave a glare to Pecker and it made me smirk at him afterwards.

"Alright, time to go find a Seal piece," I smiled as we left the tent... but then I got a message from Torn on my communicator.

"Sasha, come back to the hideout effective immediately! I have something for you to do," Torn said, me smirking at that.

"Anything you say, Torn," I smiled as I then hung up and smiled at Jak. "You can go ahead and have fun at the Dig, me and Kiki are going to see what Torn has in store for us," I smiled at him.

"Have fun," Jak smirked at me as I then gave him a quick hug and then proceeded to get a Zoomer from near the palace and ride my way over to the Underground with Kiki actually getting her own Zoomer and being able to use it quite well. She was certainly a very intelligent Metal Head, given that me and Jak were her new parents. We then arrived at the Underground and met with Torn on the inside, us seeing that he was talking to Minnie and Sammie about some kind of plan.

"Yo, what's happenin'?" I smiled, getting their attention at me and them being shocked at Kiki, Torn actually pulling his machete out of its sheathe.

"Easy, Torn. It's me, Kiki," Kiki smiled, Torn then frowning as he put his machete back in its sheathe and looked at me with a confuse frown.

"Hey, don't look at me. I was just as surprised as you are when I found this out," I smiled, Torn smirking as Kiki explained.

"I merged my personality with my mommy and daddy, so I was able to morph into my Juvenile form as a more humanoid appearance," Kiki explained.

"I see... very cool!" Sammie smiled.

"So you wanted to see me about something, Torn?" I asked, Torn smirking at me.

"The Baron's been cracking down pretty hard. Whatever you've been doing, you really upset him," he said.

"I'm just warming up," I smirked.

"He's brought in some new Hellcat MK 2 Cruisers, making the streets dangerous for the Underground. We've already lost five men today," Torn said, me frowning at that and cracking my knuckles.

No worries, Torn. I'll avenge those lost soldiers with flare," I said as I then cracked my neck side to side.

"Bring down all 5 Hellcat cruisers around the city. That should send the Baron a message," Torn said, me nodding at that as me and Kiki then went out to the city and grabbed a double seated Zoomer, me finding one nearby and seeing it was actually made of lighter armor than the regular Hellcat Cruisers, but it had way more firepower to back it up. And during this, I saw that Kiki did something shocking. She jumped from her Zoomer and hopped onto the top of the Hellcat, her then hijacking the Hellcat from the guard and then leaving something inside of it while leaving it in the lower hover zone in a corner. And five seconds later, the Hellcat exploded with a powerful blast of Dark Eco!

"Oh my gosh... you must've gained some combat techniques from being merged with me and Jak as well, Kiki!" I smirked, her nodding at that as she then hopped into another Zoomer as the KG then immediately rushed after us to attack with everything they had. KG Zoomers and MK 1 Hellcats, Guard Troopers, and even the Elite Guards, who wore yellow armor instead of red! The guards were NOT holding back on us this time and I knew it was because of the ones destroying the MK 2 Hellcats being a grey-skinned girl and Sasha Nell! But despite this, Kiki and I defeated every single guard we came across and we managed to destroy all 5 of the MK 2 Hellcats by the time that the KG finally issued a retreat because of how bloody our battle was! And Kiki didn't hold back either, using her claws to gut the guards, exploding other guards with more bombs which were actually the equivalent to Peacemaker shots, and many other gruesome tactics that made me surprised at how deadly she was... but despite all of this, no innocent bystanders got harmed at all!

"Well, I'm definitely surprised, Kiki. You definitely got quite the power upgrade from you reaching Juvenile form. I can just imagine how Praxis is going to feel when he hears about all the blood spilled on the streets today, all KG forces, none of them innocent bystanders! Oh, it makes me so anxious to see how angry he'll get at this!" I smiled with a bit of a chill in my spine, Kiki smirking widely at that.

"I agree, I hope that Praxis learns not to mess with you, especially when you have arguably an even more powerful Metal Head on your side than the Metal Head Leader!" Kiki smirked, me smiling at that.

"I wouldn't want to try and feed that pride of yours, but I think you may have some truth to that," I smirked at her as she then giggled at me as I got a call from Onin.

"Onin says that you and Jak should meet up at her tent. It is time to find the 3rd piece to the Seal of Mar to find Mar's Tomb," Pecker said, me smirking at that.

"Let's go, Kiki. I'm sure that Onin may know about our recent blood spilling spree as well, so I'm interested to see what she'll say," I smirked.

"Hehe, I'm game for seeing what she says... that is, if she could actually talk," Kiki smiled, me smirking at her.

"I'm going to flick you later for that comment," I smiled, Kiki giggling at that.

* * *

_It honestly baffled me how dangerous Sasha was becoming when it came to attacking the Krimzon Guard. Every single time that she or Jak attacked the Krimzon Guard whenever we gave them everything we had, they spilled so much blood that it was actually making the people start to be even more hopeful than ever. And not helping was the fact that I needed to use 4 Health Packs in order to heal my broken leg, but even then it gave me a limp afterwards. And Baron Praxis met insisted to meet with me effective immediately._

_"Errol, we have a problem," Baron said, me nodding at that._

_"I think I know already, your excellency," I said with a sigh._

_"Yes... Sasha seems to be even more dangerous than previously thought... that Metal Head that she has on her side... it has reached its Juvenile state and has become even more dangerous than even Sasha and Jak combined... from what the few survivors said during the slaughter of the KG during the spree of the MK 2 Hellcat destruction spree... it is painful to admit, but we're going to need to make our plan happen effective immediately. Luckily, I have found out something very important..." Baron said as he then grabbed a communicator and I wondered what he was planning. "I have one of the leaders of the Underground's phone number, thanks to a spy in our ranks finding out that there's a rebel KG member on the Eco control team, most likely an Underground member in disguise. They took her communicator while she wasn't looking and took Torn's phone number. Remember Torn?" Praxis asked, me gawking at that._

_"Torn is with the Underground movement?! But he was one of our best members of the Krimzon Guard before he quit!" I gawked in shock._

_"Indeed. But I have the upper hand," Baron said as he then called Torn and got him on the line._

_"Who the hell is this?" asked the gravelly voice of Torn on the other end._

_"Hello, Torn... remember my voice?" Baron asked, me hearing Torn growl on the other end._

_"How did you get this number, Praxis?!" Torn asked angrily._

_"I have my ways, Underground scum. Now, we're going to make a deal that you can't refuse. Because if you do, Ashelin will die," Praxis said, me gawking at that as Torn then gasped and then spoke._

_"What do you want to know?" Torn asked in actual defeat, making me even more shocked._

_"I know that my daughter has been acting as a spy for the Underground. And you know that I want the Precursor Stone. So you simply tell me when the Underground is going to find the Precursor Stone and let me get it. Understood?" Praxis said, me being shocked even more! Ashelin was actually a spy for the Underground?! I never expected that at all! Torn grumbled a bit afterwards before then speaking again._

_"They're close... they're currently completing the Seal of Mar to reach the Light Tower. Look outside for a light to shine somewhere. That will show where the tomb is at... and if anything happens to Ashelin after this, you are going down," Torn said grimly, me frowning at that._

_"Don't worry, Torn. Ashelin will be fine, now that you have given me the information I desire," Praxis said as he then hung up and I looked at him in surprise._

_"How... Why is your own daughter siding with the Underground movement?" I asked in just pure shock._

_"I have no idea as to why that is, but I know that she is a spy for the Underground. From now on, she is to stay in the Palace under lock and key, understood?" Praxis said, me sighing and nodding at that._

_"Of course, your excellency," I said, me then taking my leave and having to ponder on what he said for a bit. Ashelin was a spy for the Underground, Torn was one of the leaders of the Underground, and Praxis's former wife was the biggest threat to our plans we'd encountered yet. "From now on, no more massive KG attacks on her or Jak... it's not worth it at all," I said with a growl as I then left the palace... and just in time, too. There was a blue light that emerged out of nowhere, which demolished the statue of Mar outside of the palace! And underneath all the rubble? A secret hidden door! I immediately called up Praxis after witnessing this. "My lord! The Tomb of Mar is revealed! It's underneath the statue outside the Palace entrance!" I said to Praxis in the communicator, him chuckling at that._

_"Hehe, that was quicker than I expected... wait until everyone in the Underground is in there, including Jak and Sasha. Only then will we spring our trap," Baron said, me smiling at that. Finally, we could get the Precursor Stone and everyone in the Underground would be going to the prison!_


	20. Trouble in the Tomb

**Chapter 20**

"AAWWWRK! Well I'll be a Monkaw's uncle! The light tower actually does exist! The beam of light is shining at Mar's statue in the city! The Tomb of Mar was right under our noses the whole time!" Pecker gawked, me frowning at that, since it could only mean one thing.

"That statue in front of the Palace? I have a bad feeling about this," I frowned, knowing it would definitely be very easy for Praxis to attack us if we went into the tomb.

"Here's what we'll do, Jak. I'll go ahead and put on my KG uniform and I'll pretend to go in with the guards if they actually do assault the place. And when they try to execute their attack, I'm going to start the slaughter," Sasha said, me looking at her with a raised eyebrow.

"Are you sure that's a bright idea? I don't know why, but I don't like it," I admitted to her.

"Please, daddy? Give it a chance! Mommy's very smart. And I can always help out as well, since I can go invisible like those weird Metal Heads in the forest," Kiki said, me smiling at that as she then demonstrated as we went back into the city, me able to see her shadow and that was it. Nothing else was around.

"Okay, you two will act as the bodyguards, we'll help the kid in the tomb," Daxter smirked as I then went ahead while Sasha changed into her KG attire by the gate to the temple. I then saw that the light tower was shining right at where the head of the statue was, which was now among the rubble in front of the newly opened gate that was at the base of the statue, where I then went inside with Dax and we then went down an elevator to an open area by a much bigger gate and we saw that all of our Underground allies were there, minus Torn and the twins of Sammie and Minnie.

"You did it, Jak! You actually found Mar's Tomb!" the Shadow smiled as I looked at the kid with a frown.

"Great, now what? We send this poor kid into a meat grinder?" I asked, knowing he wasn't equipped at all for whatever was in this tomb.

"This is the day I've long awaited... to finally hold the fabled Precursor Stone in my hands!" Kor said with a smile on his face.

"You must be cautious, child. The tests of Manhood are sure to be fraught with peril, and Mar's heir must face them alone," the Shadow said as Daxter hopped off my shoulder and smiled at the kid.

"It's okay, kid! You can do it! It's just a pitch, dark, 'sure-to-be-filled-to-the-brim-with-painful-death' old tomb..." Dax said, me smacking him on the head for that comment, since it made the kid scared. And then something happened above us. Some eyes of the Precursor fixtures in the wall opened up and the Precursors began to speak to us.

"Welcome, heir of Mar. Finally, the chosen one stands before me. Enter, and prove yourself worthy to take your birthright," the Precursor said as I then tried to lead the kid in and then, the Precursor said something more as the gate ahead of us stopped opening halfway. "NO! This child is too young to face the tests!" the Precursor said as the gate then started to close, Kor gasping at this.

"NO!" he exclaimed.

"Do something, Daxter!" Tess exclaimed as I grabbed the Ottsel and ran full-steam ahead, rolling both of us under the gate before it could completely close up, me looking at Daxter with a smile.

"So, you want to prove yourself worthy of being a hero, Dax?" I asked, him smiling at that.

"Yeah, let me at them trials! Let's do this, Jak!" Daxter smiled as we then proceeded down the long stairs and saw there were two different paths to take. One led to the right and one to the left. And each had words written on the doors. "Tests of Memory and Speed is this one... and this one is the Tests of Skill and Bravery... I'll go for the Memory and Speed one, you go for the Skill and Bravery, Jak," Dax smiled, me nodding at that.

"Got it, let's go do this job," I smirked as Daxter then went into his door and I proceeded through mine, wondering what challenges we'd face in the process.

* * *

**Sasha POV:**

The exact moment that Jak and Dax went into the tomb, I saw Errol, Praxis, and a whole slew of Krimzon Guards come out of the palace and proceed towards the entrance to the tomb, me effortlessly filling in among their ranks while Kiki followed from nearby, but in the back. And once we got inside, we saw that all the Underground members were there, but not Torn, Sammie, or Minnie. And I immediately saw that Baron activated a Spider Mech that then proceeded to try and pry open the gate, me waiting until Errol gave the command to send them to the prisons before I then made my move.

"NOW!" I exclaimed, me and Kiki immediately rushing around and killing every single one of the guards in the vicinity while I also managed to connect a punch to Errol's spine as my very first move, which immediately made him fall to the ground, his legs completely limp. I had just paralyzed him and it felt SO satisfying!

"WHAT THE FUCK?! Who are you?!" Baron Praxis asked in fury after the guards had all been demolished and I had paralyzed Errol, me smiling at him as I then removed my mask and the Baron growled when he saw me.

"You know, Baron, you really should do background checks on your Krimzon Guard recruits when they join your ranks. Now tell me why I would ever allow the Precursor Stone to be taken by a madman such as yourself?" I asked, Praxis growling at me angrily as he then did something shocking. He let loose at least fifteen bombs at the gate and forced them all to explode, Praxis going through it and me gasping as I saw that the gate actually closed even more afterwards, me growling angrily.

"THAT BASTARD!" I exclaimed angrily as I then grabbed Errol by the collar and looked him square in the eye. "You better answer me truthfully, Errol, or you aren't going to live to see another race! Understand?!" I exclaimed at him in fury as I could actually feel Errol's fear escaping his sweat glands.

"W-W-What do you want to know?" he asked in fear, me growling at him as I saw that there were more guards starting to come in, but this time, the Underground allies were prepared and started to attack with everything they had while I started questioning Errol, the kid making sure to stay behind me out of the danger.

"Question number one, how did you know this was where the Tomb of Mar was so quickly?" I asked, Errol gulping at that.

"The Baron... he got Torn's phone number from our spy... this spy found a rebel KG member and copied her communicator's numbers... Torn was one of them... Praxis threatened to kill Ashelin if Torn didn't reveal the Tomb's location," Errol said, me gasping at that and immediately punching him across the face, making him cry out in pain as he then spat out another tooth with blood coming from his mouth.

"QUESTION TWO! What does the Baron plan to do with the Precursor Stone, HUH?!" I exclaimed angrily, Errol gulping at that as he then shuddered at me.

"I don't know... he never told even me that part... I'm being honest, I beg of you! MERCY!" Errol exclaimed as I grabbed him by the neck and he was gasping for air.

"AND HOW MANY PEOPLE IN THAT HORRID PROGRAM ASKED YOU FOR MERCY, ERROL?! TELL ME! HOW FUCKING MANY?!" I exclaimed, me then letting him go of his windpipe as he then breathed in and out with staggered breaths and I saw that everyone was still protecting me from the KG and that the kid was still behind me and unharmed. "Call off your men right now, or your death is going to be next," I frowned at him, Errol immediately fumbling to grab his communicator and he gave the order.

"RETREAT, YOU FOOLS! FUCKING RETREAT!" Errol exclaimed in pain and fear, the KG's assault finally stopping as I then picked Errol up and I looked him square in the eyes.

"If I find out that you were untruthful about the second question, you will be found and you will be killed... but you aren't getting off so easily, Errol," I growled at him angrily.

"W-What more do you want from me?" he asked with fear in his eyes.

"You have a purple access security pass. And I want to save Ashelin from my asshole ex-husband. Let me in that palace and give me Ashelin. Then, I will offer you the mercy you never showed to anyone," I said, me then carrying Errol with help from Kiki and I looked at everyone else.

"Everyone, time to get out of here before the Baron tries anymore tricks. Jak and Dax can get out of there no problem. So let's get going, back to base before the Baron comes back," I said, everyone nodding at that as we then left the place and went back to the surface, me and Kiki carrying the broken and bloodied Errol over to the Palace entrance and the door opening up for his Purple pass, all of us entering and me then going with Kiki to the elevator with Errol and we went up to the floor that said Living Quarters. And once we exited it, we saw that there were a couple of guards in front of us, which I shot right through the head before they had the time to react.

"Now which room is Ashelin at, Errol?" I asked him, Errol coughing a bit.

"Second room... on the right..." he groaned as I then dropped him and Kiki did the exact same thing, both of us going over to the room mentioned and me knocking on it immediately and very loudly while Kiki kept watch.

"Who is it?" Ashelin asked.

"We're here for a rescue, Ashelin, now come out and let's get you the hell away from this horrible place!" I exclaimed, Ashelin immediately opening the door and her looking at me and Kiki in surprise before then looking towards the elevator and being even more shocked at the broken Errol that laid on the ground.

"What the hell happened?" she asked.

"I'll explain during our escape, now let's get going!" I said as I led her to a secret area that I knew could get us back to ground level safely, since I often used it whenever the elevator was in use when I was Praxis's wife. It was an open window that led to a couple of poles that, though a good distance away, were connected by some rubber-coated power lines. I then zipped down it first, then Ashelin, and finally Kiki, all of us then climbing down the same pole as I explained everything that happened while we were in Mar's Tomb, including what Praxis said he'd do to her, him breaking into the Tomb to steal the Precursor Stone, and how he'd have to tango with Jak and Daxter in order to do so.

"So... my father wants me dead, too?" Ashelin asked.

"He only cares about himself and his pride. He's running this city into the ground with his mad conquest for war with the Metal Heads, which he's only doing so he can remain in power. And the Metal Heads aren't getting their eco, so the Baron is getting desperate. He wants me dead, he wants you dead, he'd rather have everyone in the city dead so long as he still gets to stay alive!" I said in anger, my feeling the horns grow on my head again as I got more angry than I normally did, which activated the Dark Eco in my bloodstream.

"Momma Sasha..." Ashelin gulped as she we then touched the ground and we immediately got into a triple-seated Zoomer. "Take me to Torn... I need to let him know that I'm okay... and that you stopped Baron from getting the Underground members imprisoned," Ashelin said, me nodding at that as I then had us go the way through the Industrial Sector of the city in order to get there. "Heh, you hate the traffic-jam highway, too?" Ashelin asked.

"I do, a lot," I said with a small, half-hearted smile as Kiki then looked at Ashelin with a smile.

"Ashelin... if it would be alright... could I call you... sister?" Kiki asked, Ashelin smiling at that.

"Of course. I'd love to be your sister... um... so is this that Metal Head infant that Jak helped out?" Ashelin asked.

"Yep, this is Kiki. She was a Metal Head Scout as an infant, but because she merged her personality with me and Jak, she actually turned more humanoid and battle-prepared in her Juvenile form after eating enough Eco... speaking of, isn't it about time for lunch for you, Kiki?" I asked, her giggling at that.

"When we stop at the Underground, I'll have some then," Kiki smiled at me.


	21. Sleeping Krew, and Keira's Secret

**Chapter 21:**

**Jak POV:**

It still made me angry that Baron Praxis got the Precursor Stone and he said that the Underground members got captured... but one look after we left the ruined tomb and we knew that Sasha's plan had worked. Bodies of the Krimzon Guard were everywhere at the entrance to the tomb and I even saw a tooth on the ground, me having a feeling it belonged to Errol. I then got a call from Sasha after I left the tomb and I answered it.

"Sasha, what happened while we were in there?" I asked her.

"Well, as expected, Errol and Praxis attacked us in the tomb, but my plan worked and I learned some stuff. Apparently the Baron threatened Torn that if he didn't reveal the tomb's location, he'd kill Ashelin. And once I found that out, I beat Errol to a quivering pulp and forced him to get me to Ashelin's room, where I then told her what happened and now she's at the Underground hideout," Sasha said, me smirking at that.

"I see... anything else?" Jak asked.

"Not much, other than the fact that Sig wants to meet with us at Krew's place, so long as we stay quiet. Apparently Krew's asleep and Sig wants to chat with us... quietly," Sasha said, me smirking at that.

"Got it, let's go meet with him, Dax," I said, Daxter smirking at that as we then proceeded towards the area in question, us entering and staying quiet as we met with Sig in one of the booths, him looking at our quartet with a smile.

"You guys are alright, and since the boss is out of it right now, I'm gonna give it to ya straight. I've been Krew's heavy for years, and I've done some things I'm not proud of... but this time, I think that Krew's gotten himself and us into something really nasty. I'm thinking of gettin' out," Sig said, Dax about to speak before Sasha shut him up with a single glare.

"What's he planning, Sig?" Sasha asked with a hushed voice.

"Something involving the Metal Head Leader and Praxis... the Metal Head Leader said he'd pay handsomely in Metal Head trophies if Krew sold out the city to them. But how is the question..." Sig said before Krew then looked to be stirring, but still sleeping.

"Thanks for telling us this, Sig," Kiki said as Sasha then went up to the sleeping fatty and whispered something in his ears.

"Krew... how ya doin', sleepyhead?" Sasha asked in a singsong, yet hushed voice, Krew grumbling a bit in his sleep. "Your special place is burning..." Sasha said, Krew gasping awake and looking around before he looked at Sasha and he frowned before he chuckled a bit.

"You sure like to mess with me, don't you, Sasha, dear?" Krew asked, me smirking at that.

"Hey, I just wanted to have a bit of fun. Nothin' like messing with someone while they're taking a nap," Sasha giggled, me smiling at her.

"I have a couple tasks for you two to do. Jak, you and the rat will go to the sewers with three of my bomb experts to find a hidden prize inside of the statue of Mar. Make sure they all get to the bottom safely and they'll do all the rest. And as for you, Sasha, a Class 2 race is going to begin at 6 PM, in roughly half an hour. Go to the Stadium and race for your right to race against Errol," Krew said, Sasha smirking at that as I looked at her and gave her a glare.

"Why does she always get to avoid going to the sewers?" Daxter asked.

"Because I like her more, eh?" Krew smirked, me smiling at that.

"Fair enough," Kiki giggled as she then went with Sasha and I looked at Dax with a smile.

"And what's the prize for doing this?" I asked with a smile.

"For you and Sasha, you will get a valuable weapon upgrade stashed at the Gun Course," Krew said, me smirking at that as Dax and I then proceeded to the Sewers, but we still kept what Sig said in mind. Krew making a deal with both the Metal Head Leader and Praxis sounded like very bad news, especially if it meant selling out the city. I had to hope that it wouldn't be the worst that Krew could be capable of.

* * *

**Sasha POV:**

I managed to get to the stadium sector of the city to meet up with Keira, who was having a good talk with her dad, Samos, and me smirking at how Errol was actually in a floating chair like Krew's, only his was more sleek in design. And he looked at me with a glare before I then glared at him, Errol looking scared effective immediately.

"Yeah, that's what I thought. Now I suggest you go ahead and go do something else for now, Errol. Or would you like to lose anymore teeth?" I asked him, Errol then retreating in his chair over to a Zoomer and him then actually combining the two so he could zoom off into the distance, me smirking at that.

"Hehe, you really gave Errol the heeby-jeebies after what happened in that tomb," Keira smirked at me widely.

"I agree, you really made his pride get hurt. And it makes me very proud," Samos smiled.

"Well, I got rightfully pissed at him when he tried to beg for mercy, despite all the prisoners in that horrible program begged for mercy during their sessions, me and Jak being among them. And he also said he knew to attack us in that tomb because Praxis blackmailed Torn with his daughter's life in exchange for information on the Precursor Stone," I frowned, Keira frowning at that.

"So where's Ashelin right now?" Keira asked.

"In the Underground. She's also against Praxis now," Kiki said as I then heard the computer above us start to speak.

"Attention all citizens. The Class 2 Race is about to begin," the computer said as I then went to the starting line soon after with Kiki getting her own Zoomer and both of us being in the running in 6th and 7th place on the starting line. The race was barely considered as such when it came to us two against the other 6. It was mainly between me and Kiki, which resulted in me getting first place while Kiki got 2nd place. And other than that, I got the gold record beaten, which earned me 9 Precursor Orbs, which made my smile wider than before.

"Now there's a beautiful winner!" I smirked at the trophy prize as I then looked at the people in the garage and saw that Tess was there with Keira.

"Nice to see you, Sasha. So where's Daxter at? I wanted to give him a big kiss for fighting Baron Praxis," Tess smiled, me being a bit surprised that she said that before I then smiled.

"So you like Daxter, huh? Well, I'm sure he's gonna be going back to Krew's place at some point. He'd appreciate a kiss from a lovely lady like you," I smiled, Tess giggling at that.

"I'll go back to Krew's, then. Besides, it's almost my shift anyways," Tess smirked as she then went off to a Zoomer and I looked at Keira with a smirk.

"Well, it appears that Tess is actually into dating animals, Keira. You're running out of potential suitors," I smiled, Keira batting an eyelash at me with a snarky smirk.

"Well, I've got my eyes on a certain person that works for Krew. That Sig guy. He's very burly and tough and he's actually very nice to me, as opposed to Krew, who's just... ugh," Keira said, me nodding at that.

"Agreed on that much... but it is kind of funny to mess with Krew when he's sleeping," I smiled, Keira giggling at that as I then got a call from Jak.

"Hey, did you win the race?" Jak asked, me smiling at that.

"Affirmative," I smiled.

"Then you'll want to come by the Gun Course as soon as possible... we got our Peacemaker payment after we helped those guys in the sewers and after we protected the Underground hideout from Krimzon Blast Bots. We also wanted to know if you wanted to join us at Krew's afterwards to see if he has anymore jobs," Jak said, me nodding at that.

"Right, it's a date," I smiled, Keira throwing a towel at my face for that and me smirking at her looking at me with a playful glare. "Yeah, sorry, that one was a bit tasteless, I know," I said with a small smile, Keira shaking her head at that.

"It's fine, I've gotten over it. Besides, you and Jak were made for each other," Keira smiled at me, me putting my hand on her shoulder with a smile.

"Don't worry, Keira. Even if you can't get a guy, there is such a thing as other options... you know... like a certain girl when she reaches adulthood," I said, Kiki smiling at her and Keira looking at me with a frown.

"Seriously? How did you know I was like that?" Keira asked, me smiling at that.

"Because you just told me," I smirked, Keira gulping and blushing afterwards, me smiling at that.

"Don't worry, your secret is safe with us," Kiki smiled at her as we then proceeded to a double-seated Zoomer and proceeded to go on our way towards Krew's place.


	22. Errol's Inner Turmoil

**Chapter 22:  
**

Once Sasha and Kiki arrived at the Saloon, I gave Sasha her Peacemaker attachment and she smiled after cocking it before she then kissed it.

"Ooh, this is gonna be fun," she smiled like an insane person, all of us then going into the bar to see that Tess was working the bar again and that she looked at Daxter and started to motion him towards her with a seductive smile and a duo of fingers, me smirking at how Daxter hopped on the counter and Tess then picked him up and kissed him on the lips, which I could tell surprised the furball before Tess giggled.

"That's for your brave fight against the Baron, Daxter," Tess smiled widely, which made me a bit surprised, but considering that Daxter also helped out during the fight with his special Green Eco gun, I'd say that he deserved that kiss. And then, Daxter smiled at Tess as she then hugged him gently and started to stroke him like her pet before Krew then appeared over us.

"Hey! Back to work, toots!" Krew said as Daxter then snapped his head to him and got snarky, as expected.

"She's workin', butterball! Quit yer yappin'!" Daxter retorted as Krew then got in his personal space angrily.

"Watch it... or you may be yet another trophy hung on these walls," Krew said, me expecting that Daxter would get spooked by that, but he actually stuck his tongue out while Krew wasn't looking and simply sat on the table with a smile. "I have a proposition for you, Jak and Sasha dear... I want you to blow the championship race... just let Errol win," Krew said, me gasping at that.

"You bet against us?!" I exclaimed angrily, Sasha growling at that.

"You'd better rethink that notion, Krew. Because I do believe that you were the one that got us in those races in the first place," Sasha frowned, Krew smirking.

"Sasha, Jak... it's just business. You two are beloved by those townies... they'll bet everything on a glimmer of hope. What better time to make money? So what do you say, guys?" Krew asked as I then looked at Sasha and then we looked at Kiki and Dax and we all then nodded and spoke the same words all at the same time.

"Fuck you," we all said, Krew growling angrily at that.

"OOOGH! You little!... You're becoming more trouble than you're worth, eh?!" Krew growled angrily as he actually floated nearly to the ceiling during that outburst. "I wouldn't get too comfy if I was you... everyone's expendable," Krew said with a smile as he looked at Dax again and my partner simply scoffed. And then someone appeared from the nearby booths in, get this, a very similar hoverchair to Krew's. And it looked like someone that had gotten into quite the bad scrape.

"In a hurry to die, are we?" Errol asked angrily before Sasha then gave him a glare and actually turned into her dark form for added flare, Errol immediately getting scared when he saw her in that form.

"I may ask the same question to you, Errol, but it seems that I've already killed any semblance of pride you ever had during our last few scuffles. And the people know that you're a loser, not a champion. And we're going to prove it on the racing circuit... that is, if you were to even show up for the race, considering how everyone in the city hates you," Sasha said, each of her words being coated with venom and Errol growling angrily at her words.

"You really think that everyone hates me, do you? What about Baron Praxis? I'm his highest grade commander!" Errol said angrily, me frowning at that.

"Just because you have a title, doesn't mean anyone treats you with respect. Remember, Baron Praxis busted into the Tomb alone while he left you and the other KG for dead in the entrance. He knew very well that you would've been dead if I hadn't offered you mercy, which, considering how horrible you treated us and ALL of the citizens of this city, prisoner or otherwise, I was being extremely generous in letting you survive at all! All those KG guards mean nothing to me, and you especially mean even worse than nothing to everyone in this city! If Praxis really did care about you, then he would've stayed behind to help you fight me and Kiki. But nope, he only cares about two things. Power and pride. You're nothing more than a regular mook in his eye," Sasha said to him angrily and with even more toxicity than a Znorkle Tooth's tongue! And after saying all of that, Errol simply left the place without saying a word or even looking back.

"Oh my... I didn't know you could be that scary, Sasha," Tess gawked.

"Every word of what she said was true, though. I'm not going to lie, but if it were me and Dax staying behind to protect the Underground members, I'd have killed Errol first," I admitted angrily as we then left the place after Daxter hopped on my shoulder and we then saw that it was actually getting pretty late. "I'd say it's time to go back to get some shut-eye. Last one there has to sleep next to Torn!" I smirked, everyone laughing at that as we then grabbed four different Zoomers and we proceeded to jet over to the Underground to have a good shut-eye session.

* * *

_She was right... every single word of what she said resonated with me... it was only after being beaten to a pulp by a girl and being treated like shit myself that I finally realized something... I was a villain that was being played by an even bigger villain... she was right, everyone in the city hated Baron Praxis. The poor, the wealthy, the criminals, even some of the Krimzon Guard in the form of Torn and even Baron's daughter._

_But I knew that joining the Underground movement myself would not be the ideal thing to do, especially considering how Praxis treated KG members who betrayed the KG and him... so that meant I had to formulate a special plan to try and do something, anything, to make it so that I could actually be considered a good guy instead of a villain. And I then got a bright idea in my head._

_"The races..." I mouthed on my own, knowing that the Baron always appeared during any of the Class One race championships, since the winner received a purple access security pass and a month's supply of eco! And the Baron would be a sitting Glub for that, which I knew would be the only chance I would have to finally do something eventful. "I'm going to need to find out how to actually do something to hurt him, though... without getting myself or those others killed," I thought with just my air coming out of my mouth. I still had until 4 today until the races actually happened, so that left me plenty of time._

* * *

After having a good night's sleep at the Underground (and me having to sleep next to Torn because I was in last place. Shocking, I know), we then got up to see that the old Samos and the Shadow were speaking to each other and they then started to talk to Sasha.

"Sasha, I do believe that it's time you visit my hut in Dead Town to pick something up. I hid something there long ago back before we came through the rift. And if you want, you could clean the place up if you could," Samos said, Sasha smirking at me as she then looked at Dax.

"I think I have a small idea. Jak, you wanna switch partners for a bit? You take care of Kiki and I'll get Daxter?" Sasha asked, Dax smirking at that and me nodding.

"Sounds like an interesting idea. Sure, let's do it," I smirked as Dax then hopped onto Sasha's shoulder and Kiki went to my side with a smile before she then held onto my arm and started to lightly tug on it.

"I'm getting hungry, daddy. Can I have some of that yellow stuff from your gun?" Kiki asked, me smirking at that and doing just as I did before as instructed by Sasha, using my dark claws on a full clip of yellow Eco and giving the contents to Kiki, who slurped it up like it were a milkshake.

"Alright, I think I'm going to go ahead and visit Vin in the meantime, just to check on how the shield walls are going," I said with a smile, me then proceeding out of the hideout with Kiki in tow, both of us grabbing our own Zoomers and proceeding over to the Industrial sector of the city.


	23. The Life Seed and Kiki's First Fish

**Chapter 23:**

Upon going towards the hut that Samos mentioned, I saw that it was actually a tough ride to get there, since we needed to bust down multiple pillars and walls with Daxter's green eco gun while also making sure to defeat Metal Heads on the way, namely the Rapid Gunners and the Metal Head Grunts. The Rapid Gunners were especially annoying, however, because they had a nasty habit of sending a flurry of powerful shots at you like they were using a Dark-Eco-powered Vulcan Fury. But their guns overheated quickly, which is when I managed to counter them soon after.

Eventually, both of us managed to get to the hut and Daxter hopped off of my shoulders when we went inside and I saw a special green, glowing seed hovering in place near what looked like a busted teleportation device. I then grabbed it and contacted Samos shortly after and told him I got it.

"Good work, Sasha... and Daxter I suppose," he said, Daxter doing a bad impression of him on purpose. I guess he didn't like Samos at all. "Before we came through the rift all that time ago, I was nurturing this life seed in the past. It seems that the Metal Heads are attracted to its power. Take the seed to Onin, she will prepare it for Samos," the old guy said, Daxter being confused.

"You mean you?" Dax asked, Samos getting annoyed at that.

"No, the other me, Daxter! My younger self needs the seed's powers to become sagely..." Samos said, me being surprised at that.

"So... let me get this straight... it's fair to say that by bringing your younger self the life seed now, we helped you become the sage you are today. We helped you get your powers in the first place. AND YOU NEVER THANKED US?!" Daxter exclaimed as I retorted something else.

"Sure, that's your question, but my question is how the fucking hell does that make any freaking sense in any logic whatsoever? I mean, your younger self is in the future and gets to become a sage in the future, meanwhile you became very old in the past, almost 2 thousand years ago. So if that were the case, wouldn't it be easier to become a sage in the past rather than becoming one in the future, where nearly every bit of foliage around the place is demolished in favor of machines?" I asked, Samos not even answering and hanging up shortly after.

"Listen, Sasha. The more that you think about it, the more it will hurt the head," Daxter frowned, me frowning at that as he then hopped on my shoulder and I had us use the Jet Board to return back to the city, me and him then going towards the shopping arcade on the eastern side of the palace to meet with Onin, where we entered to see that Pecker looked annoyed.

"Onin says, what took you so long?! We had to skip breakfast waiting for you two!" Pecker said angrily before Onin then clapped her hands together and started to sign angrily at him. "Ugh, okay, okay! What Onin really said was 'thank you for saving the life seed'... but I wouldn't say that if I were her!" Pecker said, me smirking at that as I looked at the old lady with a smile. I then gave her the seed and she started to prepare it while Pecker looked at it with a drooling mouth. "Mm... bird seed," he said.

"Back off, featherweight!" Dax exclaimed, Pecker getting annoyed very quickly at that.

"Listen, fat tail! I was leading my hundredth flock south before you had fur one between your legs! Not that your fur means anything," Pecker growled with animosity as Daxter then retorted back.

"At least I'm not some overweight, overstuffed feathery flapping mouthpiece who works for the world's oldest professional! Jak says have a nice day! Jak says I can't think on my own. Jak says go bite yourself!" Daxter said, obviously mocking the monkaw.

"That's it, rat boy! Now you've really PISSED ME OFF!" Pecker exclaimed as they then looked ready to fight and I simply grabbed onto both of them and looked them in the eyes.

"Boys, you can fight at a later date, but not right now, okay?" I frowned as I then placed Pecker on Onin's head and Daxter on my shoulder as Onin then gave me back the seed.

"Onin says you must take the seed to the Shadow in Haven Forest. It will allow him to finally see the forest from the trees. Go, quickly," Pecker said, me then leaving the place and proceeding to the mountain temple while looking at Daxter, who looked annoyed. "So you know Dax, I'd put my money on you if you were to fight with Pecker," I smirked, Dax smirking at that widely.

"You mean it?" Dax smirked at me.

"Hah! Was Pecker the one who destroyed a bunch of Metal Bugs with nothing but a flyswatter and pesticide spray? Was Pecker the one who managed to fight against Baron Praxis with a laser gun fueled by Green Eco? Did Pecker backtalk Krew on numerous occasions without flinching even once? I think not," I smirked, Daxter smirking at that widely as we then arrived at the mountain temple and I went into the warp ring before then riding the platform the whole way to Haven Forest. And once there, I then called up the Shadow to ask where he was. "Hey, Shadow? Where are you?" I asked him.

"I'm at the base of the big tree in Haven Forest," the Shadow said, me nodding as I then proceeded there from the small cave in the top of the large hill in front of me and then finding him exactly where he said he was at.

"Your older version told us you'd need this," I smiled at the Shadow as I handed him the Life Seed and he smiled at me.

"Thank you. It will allow me to speak to the plants and ask them vital questions," the young Samos said as something then happened above us.

"There they are! We've found them!" a bunch of flying KG guards exclaimed as they used their jet packs overhead and I shot them down via some very accurate shots to their jetpacks, Daxter helping out as well and the Shadow gasping.

"Protect me from these guards! I need to ask the plants vital questions about our future!" the Shadow said, me nodding as Daxter hopped from my shoulder with a smile.

"Time to waste some more KG guards, eh, Dax?" I smirked, him nodding at that.

"Light 'em up, Sasha!" Daxter smirked as some guard transporters appeared and I then proceeded to attack them along with Daxter. I used two Peacemaker shots at the one on the right, directly in the turbines. And as for Daxter, his laser actually sliced the whole transport on the left completely in half! All the guards inside either jumped ship or were killed upon the explosions and the impact. We then proceeded to kill the rest of the KG members that survived, Samos then gasping and me rushing up there and seeing that he was okay and no guards were around him... though he was shocked regardless.

"The plants have foretold something terrible... the Baron plans to destroy the Precursor Stone!" the Shadow said, me gawking at that. "He plans to crack it open somehow... if he were to do this, the energy released would be beyond comprehension! It would destroy the entire world and even more, ending all life! The plants are crying out for protection! You must stop the Baron, Sasha! Stop him however you can!" the Shadow said, me nodding at that and Daxter hopping on my shoulder soon after, me wondering just how the Baron could do such a thing... did he happen to know how powerful the blast would be? Or was he so drunk with power that he'd be willing to kill the entire world in his mad conquest?!

"It's official. Praxis is not a man anymore. He's become just as much of a monster as a Metal Head," I said with anger and Daxter frowning at me as he then slapped me... or tried to at least. His body was quite small, after all. We then managed to get into the city and I wondered if anyone would be willing to give us any jobs... but then I got a message on my communicator.

"Hey, Sasha? Kiki wanted to try some actual food for a change instead of eco. She wants to try out some fish at Brutter's. You want to come with?" Jak asked, me smiling at that.

"You bet I will," I smirked. "By the way, what've you been doing?" I asked him.

"Well, Kiki and I destroyed a whole batch of Metal Head eggs and then we took out the main control tower at the Drill Platform," Jak said, me gasping at that.

"Jak, when we get there, I need to tell you something VERY important," I said, him nodding as me and Daxter then grabbed a speed zoomer and we then got to Brutter's just a bit before Jak and Kiki arrived.

"So what did you want to talk about?" Jak asked me as I saw that Brutter wouldn't be open until 11 am, and it was 10:50 right now.

"Taking out the main control tower at the Drill Platform is probably the worst thing that could've been given to you as a job. Without that control tower, the Drill Platform won't be able to use its drill anymore. And without that drill working, the city will get literally NO eco! No eco for the Metal Head deal, no eco for the city shield walls, no eco for anyone!" I said, Jak gasping at that.

"I-I didn't know!... Kor didn't mention that... he's the one who gave me the job!" Jak said, me frowning at that and only then getting a crazy idea in my head.

"Oh shit... I don't know why I think this, but I think that Kor... I think he might be allied with the Metal Head Leader!" I gasped, Kiki then sighing at me, me looking at her in worry. "You knew, Kiki? How long did you know?" I asked her in shock, Kiki sighing afterwards.

"I knew the moment I saw Kor the first time... but as for what he is?... No one will ever believe any of it even if we told them," Kiki said, me looking at her with seriousness.

"So who is Kor?" I asked, Kiki frowning as she then pointed at herself and then pretended to be a regular Metal Head... but when she did that, I gawked at it.

"Oh... Oh my god... Kor is the Metal Head Leader?!" I asked in shock, Kiki nodding at that.

"That would explain why he wanted me to destroy the Drill Platform's control tower... no eco for the city, then he can take down the shield wall at any point! Dammit, if I find him again, I swear I'm going to destroy him!" Jak growled angrily. And just as he said this, we got a visit from Brutter as he finally made the stand open up for business.

"Oh! It brudder Jak, orangey warrior, and Sasha warrior! Thanks the totem I sees you! You help Lurkers once time, you help us twos?" Brutter asked in excitement at us as Jak frowned at him.

"Look, Brutter, we have our own problems right now," Jak frowned.

"But you know big-to-do ruckus you cause at Dig? Brutter know all caves like back of paw and Mar's Tomb nowhere there. Now Metal Headers find hidden Lurker village in caves. They bite and hurt village real bad. And me Lurker brudders trapped like animals by invading red troopers!" Brutter frowned.

"Ah, hello? They are animals!" Daxter frowned.

"We no longer evil bad-to-bones lurking Lurkers, little one! We good now. Metal Headers are bad. They is enemies... except you. You very nice," Brutter smiled at Kiki, her smirking at that.

"Yeah, we're all in the same boat now... so what would you like us to do?" I asked him.

"Save 6 Lurker brudders quick and Brutter give you help whenever needed!" Brutter said, me looking at Kiki with a smile.

"Well, how about you throw in a good meal afterwards and we'll go save them," I smirked, Brutter smiling at that.

"Oh, but of courses! Free meals if you saves them all!" Brutter smiled, me and Jak proceeding out around the place to free the captured Lurkers, which Kiki joined in on just because she wanted to really have some actual food, which made me smirk. We managed to rescue all three of them very easily. Two were in the southern farms, two in the northern farms, and there were two in the western area of Maintown. We saved all of them and then rushed back to Brutter's, who smiled at us happily.

"Ooh! Thanks to you all! You honorary members of Lurker tribe now! We no forget you kindness. If ever you need us, we help out big times!" Brutter smiled widely as he then gave us some menus and we then looked at the options and I smirked at them.

"I think I'll have some fish sticks," I smiled.

"And I'd like to have some of this Lurker Shark stew... wait... isn't it weird how you're serving Lurkers as food?" Kiki asked, Brutter chuckling at that.

"Lurker Sharks not actual Lurkers, silly Metal lady. They just called that because thems look like Lurker," Brutter smiled, me smiling and petting Kiki's head and her giggling afterwards.

"It's okay, I would've thought the same thing, Kiki," Jak smirked as he then ordered what Kiki did and Dax ordered some cod kebabs and a glass of root beer.

After waiting for about ten minutes, Brutter then got the stuff for us and we smiled and dug in, Kiki actually being in love with the flavor and me smirking at her first taste of actual human food. She did really like it, which made me smile. And after completely finishing her stew, I noticed she was pretty content afterwards.

"Another satisfied customer. Keep up the good work, Brutter," I smiled at him as we then got a call from Keira after leaving Brutter's place.

"Yeah? What is it, Keira?" I asked her.

"The Class One racing championship is going to be happening in half an hour. I want to show you guys something beforehand, though. Can you come to the stadium and meet up with me? Daddy and Ashelin are coming, too," Keira said, me smirking at that.

"Time to show that asshole Errol who the real champs are! Come on, guys! Let's get going!" I smiled, all of us then nodding and proceeding to grab some Zoomers to rush over to the Stadium effective immediately.


	24. Race For Your Life Debt

**Chapter 24:**

Upon us arriving at the Stadium, we then went into the garage to see that Ashelin, Samos, and Keira were waiting for us with anticipation.

"So what did you want to show us, Keira?" I asked with a smile.

"I'm only going to show it to you if you promise not to laugh," Keira said, me nodding at that.

"I like surprises, and I'll refrain from laughter," Sasha smiled, all of my allies agreeing afterwards. Keira then pulled away the blinds to show a very cool looking machine.

"I've been trying to build a replica of the Rift Rider using scrounged up artifacts," Keira said with a smile, me smirking at the intricate design of the Rift Rider and how cool it looked.

"That's my girl!" Samos smiled.

"But I'm still missing two integral pieces... Vin says I'll need an artifact called the Time Map and an ancient energy crystal known as the Heart of Mar. And I've looked in every single history book of Precursor technology I can find, but the Rift Ring seems to have vanished," Keira said, me frowning at that before Kiki gasped as something happened with her.

"Huh? Kiki, what's wrong?" I asked, her groaning a bit before she then sighed in and out.

"I think I have an idea of where the Rift Ring is... I just looked into the minds of some Metal Heads that are in Dead Town... their memories showed a dilapidated ring of Precursor technology in a very gross-looking room... one that was filled with Metal Head eggs... and Metal Bugs..." Kiki groaned, her then falling on the ground and needing to rest afterwards, me and Sasha looking at each other and thinking the same thing.

"Then that means that the Rift Ring is inside of the Metal Head's nest... it just had to be in the worst place possible, now didn't it?! Ugh!" Sasha groaned.

"And I've seen the Heart of Mar before. Krew has it! We'll get those artifacts, Keira," I said as the computer voice spoke again.

"Attention all citizens. The Class One Championship race is about to begin," the voice said.

"Here it goes. The race of our lives. Keira, you and the others keep watch over Kiki until she wakes up," I said, Keira nodding at that.

"Got it," Keira smiled as Sasha, Dax and I then went to the racing area and got in our respective racing Zoomers, me getting in 5th and her in 8th. And then, who would show up in 6th but Errol himself... only this time, he didn't look like he was raring to go for a race or even to intimidate us... in fact, he looked a little bit stone-cold serious... maybe too much. It weirded me out seeing him with this odd stare in his eyes.

"I think you may have broke him during that last rant, Sasha," I said to her, Sasha smirking at that and Errol frowning.

"Just shut up... I have my own interests in this..." Errol grumbled, that actually confusing me as the Baron then came down from above and he started to speak. Daxter knew to hide in my bag and me and Kiki simply put on some head wear we got from Keira's garage so that he wouldn't recognize us.

"Greetings all racers! Today, you will be pitted against each other for our amusement. If any of you happens to beat our reigning champion, Errol, they'll receive a month's supply of eco!... And a short tour of my palace to see how the other half live... Good luck, and die bravely!" Praxis said, saying that part about the palace tour very quickly and a lower volume, me frowning at that. He was so prideful that he didn't even care if someone beat Errol in a race. And I could see something happen with Errol when he said that. He growled lowly and flipped his face mask down, making him look like a very serious competitor now. "Ready! Get set!... GO!" the Baron exclaimed in time with the green light, me and Sasha then zooming off the starting line and making a bee-line for the shortcut on the right, both of us getting in the lead in a snap and then proceeding through the next part carefully. This track had way more hard turns on it than the last ones, so we had to be careful moving through the tight curves, especially since taking them too wide would make you fall into a lower sectioned area of the track and lose a lot of speed.

I managed to get in the lead for the first three laps, but then Sasha actually got neck and neck with me while Errol was close behind in third place. Sasha then boosted forward on a straightway shortcut and then quickly e-braked into the shortcut, making me smirk at how good she was behind the wheel... or rather, lack of wheels. Sasha then stayed in first place and me in second until the final lap. Errol had actually managed to overtake me, but then he accidentally got into the side part of the track where you lost speed, giving me an opening to move forward. And I did manage to get second, but Sasha managed to get first place regardless.

Sasha then got the Palace access pass and started to wave to the cameras in her helmet while I noticed that... Errol had gone missing from the race lineup. I had no idea where he went to, but I had a feeling he was going to pull a sneaky move.

"Well, the hero has been crowned... And who is this brave warrior? In my world, good men are either bought or broken. So which is it going to be?" Praxis asked as Sasha then did something drastic. She actually took off her helmet in the most brutal way imaginable. She crackled with Dark Eco as she actually made her helmet pop off of her head by going into her Dark Form, the Baron looking shocked at this.

"Like how you sold me out to be a Dark Warrior after murdering thousands of innocent civilians through torture worse than the experience of child birth?! And how you stole the Precursor Stone so you can crack it open and destroy the entire fucking universe?! And let's not forget leaving your highest-grade commander for dead in the tomb in order to get that stone! You, Baron, are the true enemy of this war!" Sasha exclaimed, Baron growling at her angrily as she continued to speak. "When I married you all those years ago, I thought you were the best man in the world! But now, after living as a lowly civilian for so long, I can safely say with dignity that the name Praxis is even worse than the Metal Head Leader! And seriously, trading the city's eco to bribe the Metal Heads into fighting you is one of the absolute stupidest fucking things I've ever heard in my entire life!" Sasha exclaimed, Praxis growling at her angrily. But the fans looked a bit baffled by all of the words she had just spoken. And it was on camera too, for the entire city to see!

"Don't you get it?! It's over, Sasha! The heroes died off long ago and only survival remains! This city is mine! These lives are mine! This WAR is mine! AND IN WAR PEOPLE DIE! Kill them!" Baron exclaimed angrily... but just before the KG could fire at us, something amazing happened. Out of the sky, right from the top of the stadium, was Errol, riding in the racing Zoomer before he then detached his floating chair from it and... it collided directly into the Dark Eco barrels that Praxis had, which actually managed to knock him and his guards off of the pedestal in shock. And the poor guards were melted away completely from the Dark Eco the moment it invaded their suits! Me and Sasha immediately booked it after that, wondering just what the hell happened back there! And then, right out of the Stadium, a slew of guards appeared and began shooting at us with everything they had! That is, until some person from before came in with a Hellcat and motioned us in it.

"COME ON! WE DON'T HAVE ALL DAY!" exclaimed Errol! Why in the hell was he doing this?! But we didn't dare think to backtalk him and joined him in the Hellcat, him managing to drive us away from the place and out of the city limits!

"Errol, what the fuck is going on?!" Sasha asked in absolute shock and dismay.

"Everything you said was true, Sasha! And I'd rather not get into specifics right now!" Errol growled angrily.

"Where are you taking us?" Daxter asked in shock.

"To the Baron's weapon factory. He's planning to crack open the Precursor Stone there with help from Krew from a new type of bomb!" Errol said, me being shocked at that.

"Why are you helping us all of a sudden, Errol?" I asked him with animosity.

"Because I learned everything about what the Baron has been doing. And I now finally see what Sasha was talking about. Being a commander didn't do me any good! It just made everyone in the city hate me! The townies hate me, my own guards betrayed me, and even Baron Praxis hates me! You said it yourself, he left me for dead in that tomb after Sasha came in and wiped the floor with everyone! And now, I feel that I have a life debt to be repaid. But not to Praxis. To Sasha Nell," Errol said, his anger still there as we actually got to the factory and Errol had us go to the top of it and he then drove off before Krew could give chase. But when Krew saw us, he looked at us with a very wide grin on his flabby face.

"I always knew you were special, Jak... and Sasha, dear... look at how far we've come to get to this point, eh? It feels me with such pleasure..." Krew smiled, Sasha frowning at that as she simply activated her Dark Form right on the spot, Krew looking at her with confusion. "Am I missing something here? Oh, that's right. Take these gun upgrades and forget what you saw here, okay?" Krew said as he gave me and Sasha a gun upgrade each... and I then inserted it into my gun and then aimed right at Krew's chair with the Peacemaker! I then fired a shot and Krew gasped as the chair actually spun out of control and landed on the ground right by the base of the giant bomb, the Heart of Mar falling out of his fat rolls in the process. I didn't dare pick it up, but Sasha did.

"That was for selling out the city to the Metal Heads! And this?" Sasha smiled as she brought out her claws. "This is for betting against us in that race!" she exclaimed as she then slashed Krew across the face, the blood pouring out being a bit shocking to me as I then saw that Sasha's slash also managed to slice apart one of the supporters for the bomb. And it looked like it was starting to short-circuit.

"Uh-oh. We gotta get going... just about now!" Daxter exclaimed as Errol then pulled the Hellcat over to us and we immediately hopped in. He then got us out of the range of the explosion and we could actually feel the wind rushing past us after the large blast! Errol then let us down in the port area of Haven and looked at Sasha with a frown. "I'll take the Heart of Mar to Keira. Just tell her that I'm on your side now. got it?" Errol asked, Sasha looking a bit conflicted, but looking at him in the eyes beforehand.

"If you do anything else with this gem other than what you just said, consider your hours numbered. Yes, hours. Not days," Sasha said, Errol nodding at that as Sasha gave him the gem and Errol then zoomed off directly to the north, leaving all of us a bit stumped as to how to proceed.

"Damn... I guess your epic rants of venom actually managed to get through to his thick skull, Sasha," Daxter smiled at her, Sasha sighing afterwards.

"I think it's more along the lines of the way I beat him to a quivering pulp numerous times, and how I nearly beat him to death in the tomb. That added with the venomous rants must've finally made him realize the truth... at least I hope. I really fucking hope," Sasha frowned. We then got a call from Tess shortly after.

"Hey, guys? I need you to come over to the Saloon. I think I may have something to share with you," Tess said, Dax smirking at that as we then went to the Saloon via our jet boards and went inside, wondering what would happen next.


	25. The Shield Walls Came Tumbling Down

**Chapter 25:**

After we got into the Saloon, I called up Keira on the communicator to tell her what happened.

"Yeah, what is it, Sasha?" Keira asked in confusion.

"Two things... first and most important, is Kiki up yet?" I asked.

"Yeah, she's up. She and I have been talking a bit," Keira said.

"Okay, second and even more important... Errol is going to come by and give you the Heart of Mar. And if he does anything to hurt you, have Kiki attack. Got it?" I said, Keira being a bit surprised.

"Errol? Why is he helping out?" Keira asked in surprise.

"His words not mine, 'everyone in the city hates him, including Praxis. And he has a life debt to Sasha Nell'. So now, he's on our side... even though we still hate each other," I said.

"Right... okay, I'll make sure to... huh?" Keira said in surprise as she then got silent afterwards.

"Huh? Keira, what's wrong?" I asked her.

"Kiki just got up and is sniffing the air... here, take the communicator," Keira said as she gave it to Kiki as I saw that, while I was speaking, Dax had conquered a Whack-a-Metalhead game and the reward was, get this, the Time Map! And then Kiki gasped as she growled angrily.

"Mommy... we have a big fat problem now... I can smell it. Tons of creatures are inside of the city now. All of them smell a lot like me and Kor... ACK! TAKE THIS!" Kiki exclaimed out of nowhere as I then heard some fighting noises as well as some gurgling from Metal Head Grunts, me being shocked as the door to the saloon then opened up to reveal two Metal Head Grunts and a Metal Scorpion! I blasted them to bits with my Scatter Gun and Tess was shocked as was Daxter.

"Metal Heads in the city! Where's Sig?!" Daxter exclaimed in surprise, not fear.

"Sig? I think Krew sent Sig on one last mission... to open something in the Underport with the Ruby Key," Tess said, me being shocked at that and growling angrily.

"So THAT'S how Krew planned to sell out the city! No doubt that the Ruby Key lowered the shield walls after Sig opened some locks down there! Come on, we need to go and save that guy!" I said with seriousness... but before then, I got a message from someone shocking.

"THE SHIELD WALL IS DOWN! I REPEAT THE SHIELD! WALL! IS! DOOOWN! Sabotage! KOR DID IT! I knew Metal Heads would be the death of me! O-OH NO! THEY'RE TRYING TO BREAK DOWN THE DOOR! AAAAAAUUUUGGGHH!" exclaimed an extremely worried and terrified Vin, me knowing priorities needed met.

"Okay, change of plans! Jak, you go down to the Underport to save Sig! Daxter, you take Tess and the Time Map to the Stadium and pass word to everyone in the Underground to start fighting the Metal Heads and save survivors! I'm going to save Nervous Twitchy!" I exclaimed angrily as I then rushed out of the door and hijacked a KG Zoomer just to go extra fast, me rushing down the city streets until I then got to the Power Station and I saw that there was a whole bunch of Metal Heads attacking the front entrance to the Power Station, me rushing in and demolishing them all with a Dark Bomb, which also demolished a bunch of Metal Heads near us and underneath the platform I was on!

"VIN! ARE YOU OKAY?! I'M HERE TO SAVE YOU!" I exclaimed, Vin immediately opening the door and looking at me with absolute worry.

"Sasha! Oh thank the Precursors you're here! I thought those Metal Heads would kill me! How do we get out of here?!" Vin asked in worry as I pointed to the Warp ring and he looked at it in worry.

"Vin, we have no choice! We need to get you out of the city and to an area with no Metal Heads! If you ask me, the only place that's safe for you is the Fortress. Go to the Fortress and give me updates when needed, got it?" I said, Vin nodding with seriousness as he then activated the warp gate and then he rushed through it, me frowning at how the Metal Heads then appeared from the door and I then proceeded to attack them one by one, managing to make a barrier in the door made up of a bunch of Metal Head corpses. And when that happened, I then closed the doors as much as possible against their deceased bodies before I then shut off all power to the entire Power Station soon after. And once I did that, I then used the Warp Gate myself, rushing through it with a 5 second timer to turn it off for good afterwards.

"Vin! Are you okay?" I asked, Vin being worried as he looked around and looked to be hyperventilating.

"I... I'm just a nervous wreck right now... I almost died... you made sure they couldn't chase us here, right?" Vin asked, me nodding at that.

"Yeah, I did. I turned everything off in the Power Station after I made a barricade at the front door of Metal Head carcasses, the Warp Gate is now shut off completely as well. You just stay here. I'm going to go out and help out other survivors," I said, Vin stopping me with a hand to the shoulder.

"Before you go... I found something out from Kor himself, which is how I know that he took down the shield walls. He bribed Krew with Metal Head trophies if he could open a gate in the Underport. Once that gate opened, the shield wall then came down. KOR IS A METAL HEAD!" Vin exclaimed, me nodding at that.

"I know, but I didn't say it to anyone because I doubted they'd believe me," I frowned.

"Well I certainly believe it! He's going to meet with the Baron at the construction site. It's in the Industrial sector of the city. Go meet with them and maybe you can stop him!" Vin said, me calling up Keira immediately afterwards.

"Sasha! The Metal Heads are swarming us! Kiki and Tess are helping out, as well as Torn, Errol, and Ashelin, but these monsters are actually attacking the garage directly! I don't know why!" Keira exclaimed in shock.

"I don't either, but I have a feeling it's because of the Rift Rider! Finish production of it while I go to the construction site. Call me up when we need to get that to the Metal Head Nest. I have an idea of how to stop the assault and clear the way to the nest for you guys," I said, Keira grunting at that.

"Okay, I'll do it! Everyone, cover for me while I finish work on the Rift Rider! I think they're attacking us because of the Rift Rider!" Keira exclaimed, me nodding at that as I then left the Fortress via the rooftop after got there from a spiral staircase. And once I reached it, I then proceeded north and hopped across the rooftops of the Industrial sector until I finally got into the Construction Site from over the city walls, since the site was in between some of the walls of the Industrial section.

And once I got down to the ground, I looked around and saw Baron Praxis on the ground and Kor then jumped down from a high vantage point as I then rushed to the wolf in sheep's clothing and grabbed him by the neck, him gasping at me as I wasn't being gentle.

"YOU'D BETTER START FLAPPING THOSE FAKE LIPS OF YOURS, KOR! I KNOW WHAT YOU'VE BEEN DOING!" I exclaimed at him angrily and brutally, Kor growling as he then grabbed my hand and I gasped at how his strength actually made my hand crinkle and crack, me shouting in pain as I then let go of his neck and he then started to laugh evilly as he then turned into his Metal Head form, it being just as big and fugly as it looked on the communicator.

"Now you see?! Without your precious shield wall, my minions will find that stone and kill everyone in their way!" Kor exclaimed maniacally as Praxis then brandished a huge sword and growled.

"If the city must die, then we all die! YYYAAAGGGHH!" Praxis exclaimed as he tried to rush Kor, but Kor sent a blast of concentrated Dark Eco at the group, the shockwave blasting the guards against the walls and making Baron collide into a bunch of construction equipment, his wounds being all over and very severe!

"I WILL FIND THAT STONE, EVEN IF I HAVE TO CRUSH THIS CITY ONE BRICK AT A TIME!" Kor exclaimed as he rushed off into the distance and I then rushed over to Praxis and I frowned angrily at him.

"Rgh... Sasha... you are the only one who can stop him now... still... every leader worth his salt has a backup plan..." Praxis growled as he then produced something from his armor and I gasped. It was the Precursor Stone! "Take the stone... use Mar's gun... and kill that abomination... tell your daughter... I love her..." Praxis said before he then kicked the bucket. And right then and there, I finally saw something happen to Praxis. A level of dignity. He told me that Ashelin was my daughter instead of his. I nodded at him and simply covered his dead body with a nearby tarp, since it was starting to rain. I then got a call from Jak soon after.

"Sasha, where the hell are you?" Jak asked me.

"Jak, you'll never believe this. I got the Precursor Stone after Praxis finally showed dignity at death's door," I said, Jak frowning at that.

"What did he say?" Jak asked.

"He said... to tell my daughter that I love her. And he wasn't talking about Kiki," I said, Daxter groaning at that.

"I got the Lurkers to get Keira, the Samos's, and Tess to go towards the nest. Now we all need to go to the nest ahead of them. We need to blow apart the nest with the Precursor Stone and then defeat the Metal Head Leader," Jak said, me nodding at that.

"Let's all meet up at the air train. Tell Kiki to stay behind and protect the townies and citizens and kill as many Metal Heads as she can. It's time for her to show the world how a Dark Eco creature can save an entire city!" I said, Jak smirking at that.

"You bet I will, mommy! NOW COME OVER HERE, YOU FUCKING FROGGIES! IT'S MY LUNCH TIME!" Kiki exclaimed, me frowning at her swearing as I then arrived at the Air Train with Jak and Daxter arriving shortly after.

"When we get back, I'm going to give Kiki a flick on the nose for that curse," I said, Jak smirking at that.

"I already did that," Jak smiled at me.

"Thanks," I giggled as we then got in the Air Train and the KG in it looked at me in confusion.

"Huh? Who're you?!" the guy asked.

"No time to explain, we have the Precursor Stone and we're going to use it to take out the Metal Head Nest! Take us as close to that gun as you can and I'll give you 25 Precursor Orbs as payment!" I said, the guy gasping at that.

"Got it! Let's get going right away!" the guy said, me smirking at how I got him to do my bidding with Precursor Orbs.


	26. Killing Kor and Haven Savin'

**Chapter 26:**

The exact moment that the guy dropped us off near the gun, Sasha payed him 25 Precursor Orbs and then exchanged numbers with the guy. "I expect you to return here whenever we finish defeating the Metal Head Leader. I'll call you when we've killed him and gained the best trophy of all time," Sasha said, him nodding at that as he counted the Precursor Orbs and smiled at how he had all 25 of them.

"You better believe it, lass! These are the real deal and I always keep my word," the guy said as we then got out of the air train and immediately got jumped by some very fast jumping Metal Heads and some flying spider Metal Heads that were as big as a Hellcat.

"Dammit! Not just the Metal Spiders, but Metal Mantises, too?! I HATE these slippery assholes!" Sasha exclaimed angrily as she then started to do a special attack that made me surprised. She attacked the Metal Mantises with a jumping spin attack like I used, but hers made it so that she shot in all directions while also shooting a stream of bullets at the Metal Spider, killing them all soon after doing the same attack twice more, clearing the way to the gun easily.

"You know you wasted, like, ten bullets, right?" I asked her, Sasha frowning at that.

"Just a few of them. Besides, that's the only surefire way to defeat Metal Mantises in large numbers. They're experts in combat and evasion. No doubt that they're what makes up the most of the defenses here at the nest," Sasha frowned as we then got to the gigantic gun and we then got a call on my communicator.

"There isn't much time left, guys. With the shield walls down, it's only a matter of time until the Metal Heads completely overwhelm us. Jak, you should just go through the Rift Ring to your own time and get the hell out of this horrible place," Ashelin said, Daxter saying it for us.

"Like hell we're doing that! We're gonna take out the leader! If we do that, then the armies will go out of whack shortly after!" Daxter exclaimed, me smirking at that.

"How did you know that, Dax?" Sasha asked him as I put the Precursor Stone into the power source for the gun and it slowly started to rev up.

"Because that's how it was when I defeated the Metal Bug Leader. His name was Kaeden and boy was he tough! He's the last of the Metal Bugs I fought before I got to you and Jak in the prison," Daxter said with a smile, me smirking at that.

"Don't worry, Ashelin. Once Kor is killed, we'll be able to defeat the other Metal Heads easily! Just spread out around the city to save as many innocent civilians as you can, got it?" I said to her.

"Got it. Be safe and be careful. We'll hold out as best we can. Farewell," Ashelin said as the gun then finally started to charge up a shot.

"Precursor Stone... gun... nest!" I smiled widely.

"Light 'em up, hon!" Sasha smirked widely.

"HAHAHA! EAT THIS!" I laughed like a madman as the gun then sent a gigantic blast at the nest, leaving a gigantic hole for us to get into, though it was on a higher alcove that we'd need to fight our way through via an alternate path.

"This is gonna be great! Come on, you two, let's go finish off that overgrown bastard!" Sasha smirked, me nodding at that as we proceeded down the path and ended up defeating numerous more Metal Mantises and Metal Spiders... but then we came across something big. And I do mean BIG!

"Oh my god... that's a Metal Mammoth! Those things are nearly indestructible!... Emphasis on nearly. Watch this," Sasha smiled widely as she rushed to the giant Metal Head's thick hide and then slashed at its head numerous times with her claws, managing to actually decapitate it as its head fell to the ground with a powerful thud!

"This is my trophy! There are many like it but this one is mine!" Sasha smirked widely, obviously boasting.

"Wait until we kill Metal Kor and then whoever gets his trophy can boast," I said, Sasha sticking her tongue out at me as we continued the onslaught through the wastes until we finally entered the nest, us seeing Metal Kor hanging over the egg room and him actually having the prince held in a stasis bubble.

"Ah, I see you've finally decided to join us. And you brought the Precursor Stone! Now the boy will finally be able to play his final part," Kor said angrily as Sasha growled at him angrily.

"If you do anything to that child, it will be the last thing you ever do!" Sasha exclaimed angrily.

"Oh, but this kid is such a big part of all of this. Such a part of your boyfriend. Don't you recognize him? THE KID IS YOU, JAK!" Metal Kor exclaimed, us gasping at that as Kor then smirked widely. "And this is where you began. In the future!"

"How the hell is that possible?!" I asked in shock.

"The boy was sent to the past with the hopes that you would gain the skills to face me today. But Onin was wrong! Now that you've been infected with Dark Eco, the stone would never open for you, Jak! But your child self still has the pure gift. And soon, I will feast on the Precursor Stone and the Precursor entity that lays within!" Kor said, me gasping at that.

"This stone is a Precursor?" I asked.

"The last Precursor Egg! Mar was clever. He hid his tracks well through time, hiding his last egg from me. He built this city and the shield wall systems to defend it. And now I will finally feast on the last remains of the Precursors!" Metal Kor exclaimed as Daxter then pulled out his gun and smiled.

"Oh is that right?! Eat this instead!" Daxter exclaimed as he then sent his lasers at the giant Kor, him actually managing to slice of the giant Kor's numerous different tethers that he used to hang in the air! And while Kor was shocked by this and tried to get up, Daxter then sent a blast directly across Kor's head from side-to-side! And the result? HE WAS BEHEADED! I gawked at this, since Daxter had just killed the Metal Head Leader all on his own!

"You just became a true hero, Dax! Great job, partner!" I smiled at him, Daxter smirking at that as we then hopped down to the ground and I saw the kid version of me wake up from his comatose state. I then gave him the stone and, out of it came a Precursor!

"Oh my! A Precursor!" Sasha gasped as she then knelt to it out of respect.

"It is finished. Our ancient foe is no more. Take heed, great heroes, for the darkness within you is now balanced by a glorious light. Now I must return to times past... we will meet again, heroes... farewell," the Precursor said as he then went into the Rift Ring and I saw that it was starting to collapse, just in time for Keira and the others to arrive in the Lurker balloon and Keira looked at the giant decapitated Metal Kor in awe.

"Okay, we don't have much time. I've set the coordinates for us to go back home. Come on, Jak," Keira said before I smiled at her.

"But we are home," I smiled, Keira looking at me in confusion.

"You see, Keira, we must send the kid Jak here to the past so that he can gain the skills and experience to become the hero he is today," Samos said.

"Wait a minute... it's you... er, me! I have to go back and take care of him, don't I?" the Shadow asked, me smirking and nodding at that. "Aw, grass grubs! Talk about being in the wrong time at the right place!" he said as he then went into the Rift Rider and I looked at the kid with a smile.

"Take care, kid. Oh, and trust me on this one. Stay away from ANY Wumpbee nests on your 9th birthday, got it?" I smiled at him, the kid nodding as he then gave me the amulet, me smirking at it as I wore it around my neck with a smile.

"I sure hope I managed to get all the details right," Keira frowned.

"Don't worry, Keira. This is the very machine that we found... or will find later," Samos smiled.

"But I just built this off of memory! It's based on what I remember from-" Keira was about to say before Sasha shushed her.

"Hon, the more you think about it, the more it won't make any semblance of sense. It's best to just accept it and be done with it," she smiled as the Shadow then activated the Rift Rider and went through the portal.

"I'll take care of the child! And don't worry! I'll be back in time for the celebration!" he said before he disappeared into the rift and I smiled at the old log.

"Thanks, Samos," I smiled at him as he then frowned at the ring.

"It's funny... the boy won't remember any of this," Samos frowned.

"No... I do remember the light," I smirked as I remembered... the light of the Precursor. That's what I was able to remember. I had a feeling I'd remember more along the way.

"Do you realize what this means, Jak?" Sasha asked, me looking at her in confusion. "This means that you are the true heir to Haven City! You were the prince!" Sasha said, me looking at her with a smile. She was technically right, but I didn't really feel like a prince.

"I think I'd rather have you and Ashelin have the lead of the city instead, to be quite honest. I'm not cut out for that line of work," I said, Sasha smirking at me and kissing me on the lips.

"Let's get going back home, hon," she smiled at me as we then proceeded back to the Air Train and she called the guy up, him arriving while the Lurker Balloon went back with Keira, Samos, and Daxter riding on it. He did want to ride in the balloon, after all. And the moment we got back to Haven, we saw that all of our friends were getting the Metal Head armies under control. A ton of Metal Heads were littering the streets, all of them dead, and even some of the townies were helping in killing the stragglers and cleaning up the mess of Metal Head body parts.

"Mommy! Daddy!" I heard Kiki exclaim as she rushed over to us and I saw that she had actually grew a bit again, this time to look like a 16 year old. Her chest had gotten a bit bigger and her hair had gotten a bit longer, though it was now half black and half blonde. "I grew some more after eating some of the Metal Heads' bodies. Apparently their blood is just like Dark Eco," she smiled, Sasha smirking at her happily.

"You did a good job, Kiki, hon. And look at the prizes we got," Sasha smirked as she showed off the heads of the Metal Mammoth and Metal Kor, Kiki smiling widely at them.

"Those are big heads! Who are they?" Kiki asked.

"This is a Metal Mammoth, a very durable Metal Head that attacks with electricity. And this? This is Daxter's trophy, the head of Metal Kor," Sasha smirked, Kiki giggling at that.

"Where is he, anyways? A bunch of the others were saying that, according to the altered contract that Keira had from Krew, Daxter gets to inherit the Hip Hog Heaven Saloon after Krew died, which he is dead, right?" Kiki asked, me smiling widely at that and deciding to contact Keira.

"Hey, Keira? Can you put Daxter on the line? I got big news for him," I smiled widely.

* * *

After nearly three days of cleaning up the city free of Metal Head bodies, it was decided by Ashelin, the new governess of Haven City, that all of the members of the Underground would be freed of any previous charges brought against them and that everyone would be able to get food, drink, and a place to live so long as they had a job. Everyone was super happy about that and it finally allowed for the slums to actually have some kind of leg to stand on as opposed to before where they lived in depression. Brutter was made the captain of the airships and Haven's naval force, which I found to be a bit surprising until Daxter mentioned that Brutter was the one flying the balloon all by himself.

Meanwhile, Daxter had turned the Hip Hog Heaven Saloon into a new bar that he called the Naughty Ottsel, complete with the sign outside now having the image of Daxter with a pitchfork and devil horns, which looked pretty badass all things considered. And today was his grand opening and all of us were there, minus a few like Sig, Torn, and Ashelin. The latter two were busy with planning the rebuilding of the city while the former was killed in the Underport by a gigantic Metalpede.

"Welcome to the Naughty Ottsel! The hippest, hottest, hoppinist joint in town! And check out the new decor!" Daxter smiled at Tess as he showed off the head of Metal Kor hung over the bar and him looking pretty cool as a trophy.

"Whoa! Look at the size of it!" Tess smiled at it.

"As if size matters? I bagged that bad boy myself, baby!" Daxter gloated.

"Onin says, she doesn't know who has a bigger head. Him or you!" Pecker smirked, us all having a good laugh at that as I then noticed that Minnie and Sammie were talking with Keira and Sasha looked to be watching them with Kiki.

"Um... listen, Keira... me and my sis have been thinking... well... okay, how do I say this without embarrassing all three of us? We like you... romantically," Sammie said, Keira gasping at that and blushing, me being the only one who overheard along with Sasha, who then went to Keira's ear and poked her, sending a chill down her spine.

"I think you should go for it, Keira. Besides, double the heads means double the kisses," Sasha smirked, Keira giving her a glare and me chuckling at that as Keira then breathed in and out before then walking up to the two-headed sisters and kissing both of them on the lips for 3 seconds each, the duo gasping at that and them then combining their faces to kiss Keira at the same time on the face, me smiling at that.

"I accept," Keira said with a giggle afterwards as Sasha then went to me and stroked my shoulder with her finger.

"You know, Jak... now that the city's safe, how about you and I get some private time together? Just you and me?" Sasha asked with a flirtatious smirk and I smiled at her.

"I'd like that, Nelly," I smiled at her as she then went in to kiss me while Daxter exclaimed something at Onin, her kissing me regardless and me smiling at that.

"Hey! You're havin' too much, old girl. I'm cuttin' ya off!" Dax said to Onin, who zapped him away with a blast of magic shortly after.

"Trust me, she gets really mean when she's like this," Pecker said as Onin then started to sign again and Daxter frowned.

"What'd she say?"

"Something about rubber tubing and certain parts of your mother! You don't wanna know," Pecker groaned, me smirking at that as the door then opened and we saw something appear from it. It was the face of the Metalpede that attacked me and Sig in the Underport! And the one holding onto it?

"SIG! You're okay!" I smiled at him, Sig smirking widely at me.

"What? You didn't think some nasty-breath oversize lizard was gonna keep me from the biggest party in town, did ya?" Sig smiled widely, Daxter smirking at him as well.

"I knew you were too tough for 'em, big guy!" Daxter smiled widely at him as we then went outside and I spoke to Sasha as we watched the fireworks start to go off in the distance.

"So... you wanna tell me what your big plans are now, prince?" Sasha asked, me smirking at her calling me that. She refused to stop calling me that from time to time, even though it felt very odd to be called a prince.

"Well, I'm thinking we should help the city rebuild, maybe find some kind of way to have Eco again for the city, but not for a shield wall," I said, Sasha smiling at that.

"Another option... we could get married, you know?" Sasha smirked, me smirking at her offer.

"Maybe. But do you have a dress to wear for the occasion?" I asked, her smirking at that.

"I can always find one. Besides, Tess is very good at making clothes," Sasha smiled at me as we then nuzzled our cheeks together and I had to wonder... what would the future hold for us, especially after I found out that this was actually my original home? Would I be able to see my father or mother? I then had to cut the nuzzling short when Errol came out of the bar next, having upgraded his floating chair so that it could help him learn how to walk again, since he did get some health from Samos after he helped us out those couple of times.

"Hello, Errol," Sasha said, me and her still feeling animosity towards him.

"Listen, I know you still don't like me, and quite frankly, I don't care. I still have a lifelong debt to repay you and I intend to do so from here on out. Just as me for help whenever you need it, and I'll be there," Errol said, me frowning at that and eyeing him face-to-face.

"One thing you can do is apologize to both myself and Sasha. Me especially, since I was arrested by you for literally no reason," I said, Errol sighing at that and frowning.

"I don't even know if I can even remotely make up for that kind of pain I made you two suffer... I feel that a simple sorry would just be denied," Errol said, him averting his gaze at us while doing so.

"If you had to endure that kind of pain for that long, you'd be just like we are, Errol. But if you really are serious about this life debt thing, then you really have to fucking commit. Because if we're going to work together for anything, you're going to need to prove that you can change," Sasha said.

"What do I do first?" Errol asked.

"For now, you can go and continue the celebrations with the others. Get to know the people who helped save the city from the Metal Heads. And starting tomorrow, you help to make this place be the best it's ever been. Be nice to the citizens, help out with others' problems, help rebuild the parts of the city that were damaged by the Metal Heads. Do the things that the KG would never have done under Baron Praxis's rule," Sasha listed, Errol nodding at that.

"Very well..." Errol frowned as he then gave me something. It was the Ruby Key that I got from Krew. "You'll need that if you want to close up the shield walls again," Errol said, me smirking at that.

"Thanks, but we'd rather leave them down for now. Besides, the Metal Heads only attacked this city because of Kor. They won't bother us again in that big an army ever again," I smirked, learning that much from Sasha.


	27. Banishment

**Chapter 27:**

It was a long and arduous ordeal, but we had finally managed to rebuild Haven City as a very good place once again, just like it was during the reign of the House of Mar... but that peace did not last long at ALL! Roughly a month into peace, something started to happen that shocked all of us. For some bizarre reason, a floating robotics factory hovered above Haven City overnight, it producing attack robots by the storm, which all honed in on attacking the citizenry and the newly formed Freedom Fighters, which were the new and improved Krimzon Guard, only they wore a cool blue instead of fiery red.

But that wasn't the worst part. Apparently the Metal Heads had found some new leader, because they started to attack our city once again, them completely overtaking the western farm area and turning it into their new nest. We had to seal them off, and even then, they found ways to get into the city daily.

But even then, that was not the absolute worst part. During one of the big attacks from both sides, rumors began to spread that the citizens were against myself, Jak, and Errol because we had a hand in the Metal Heads' "revenge" on the city because of Krew tricking Jak and I with the Ruby Key. And why did they also decide Errol was at fault? Because they already hated him beforehand and he was now one of our allies. And during this attack, the enemies sent forth a giant volley of mortars at the Palace, which ended up making it collapse completely in the Stadium, most of Maintown, and the entire Western Bazaars! Jak, Daxter and I barely escaped the wreckage unscathed, as we were on the Palace's balcony when this happened! And directly underneath where the Palace stood was a bunch of Precursor tunnels that looked very intricately designed, which Samos called the Catacombs, which were the oldest Precursor ruins on the planet.

And then, after three days since that event, a certain member of the Baron's city counsel, known as Count Vegar, declared a vote to be cast by the entire city. What was the vote for? To banish myself, Jak, and Errol into the deserted Wastelands for life. The exact same thing that Praxis did to the former king and queen! And apparently, despite my friends being on our side, Vegar declared the vote UNANIMOUS! Jak and Errol were furious at this, but I was quick to remind them that our allies would have NEVER joined the unanimous party, so I knew there was corruption going on. But even as I demanded Ashelin to investigate it, she frowned as she then told the truth to me.

"You're right, it wasn't unanimous... it was 80 to 20 in favor of you getting exiled. Vegar just wanted to gloat, so he declared it a unanimous vote," she said, me knowing then that, even if it wasn't unanimous, we were now as good as fucking dead. The Freedom League guards soon came to arrest us and we simply let them do it. I mean, how could we resist? If we did that, then the city would hate us even more. Even after we saved them from the Metal Heads and Metal Kor in the past, they thought we were the ones at fault. It really agitated me and it made me even more so when they decided that Kiki and Daxter would have to watch us go through the whole ordeal.

"Mom, I don't want you or dad to go! Please, tell me there has to be another way!" Kiki said, me sighing at her as we were arriving at the destination. I could feel it from the sudden heat that was inside of the Air Train we were using.

"Kiki... the only other way is if you got banished along with us. And we don't want that for you, okay?" I said to her with sadness, but she then clung to me and started to produce tears from her yellow eyes.

"Then banish me too! If mom and dad get banished, you aren't doing so without leaving me with them! I REFUSE to join you assholes after you all sold us out! Especially you, Count Demon!" Kiki exclaimed angrily at Vegar with tears, him growling at that.

"That's not even close to my name and you damn well know it, you Dark Eco freak!" Vegar exclaimed, me feeling something snap inside of me when he said that. Every single time he looked at us, he called me and Jak freaks, despite the fact that he knew about our injections long before Praxis was killed! And him saying that about our Metal Head child, who was more human than Metal Head by this point? It made me go dark form immediately as I then snapped free of my cuffs and rushed Vegar, grabbing him by the neck and choking him, the Freedom League immediately zapping me with their shock sticks so that I'd stop, but I didn't let go until I got shocked for the third time, me growling angrily as I glared Vegar in the face as he gasped for breath.

"If you call my daughter that name ONE MORE TIME, then your head will be served on a silver platter as her next meal! YOU HEAR ME?!" I exclaimed angrily at him, just as we landed. I then growled as I simply walked out on my own accord and Daxter and Kiki joined me, Jak, and Errol as we exited.

"By order of the Haven City counsel, for heinous acts and crimes against the people, you are hereby banished to the Wastelands for life," Vegar said as Ashelin then gave me something. It was a very old beacon.

"Someone will find you. I promise, momma Sasha," she said, me nodding at that as I hid the beacon in my bra and Vegar, her, and the guards then went back into the Air Train as it closed up.

"May the Precursors have mercy on you," Vegar said with a snarky smile as he then jetted off into the distance and I looked at my allies with a frown. Errol had since gotten healed up from our excursions in the past, since it was nearly 6 months ago and he's had plenty of healing sessions with Samos since then. But he still decided to opt for his old racing attire, since it reminded him of the days when he still had his pride... before Jak and I completely shredded it.

"Okay, now what?" Errol asked with a frown.

"I don't know, to be honest... Kiki, do you think you can scout ahead? You do have wings after all," I said, Kiki nodding at that. It was true. During our break for peace, Kiki had managed to get more eco from more mining operations, which made her finally turn into her adult form, it looking exactly like a cross between myself, Jak, and a Metal Head Scout. She had the Skull Gem hidden underneath her black and blonde hair, she had very quick agility thanks to her having tons of cartilage in her bones and tons of joints in her arms, legs, and back. And she actually was able to sprout very large and tough wings on her back that allowed her to fly and take out targets from the skies, namely with her trademark bombs, which had upgraded to be more like a Red Eco explosion instead of Dark Eco, since we'd learned that Red Eco was her favorite to eat. She said it tasted a lot like cherries, which were oddly enough one of her favorite human foods.

"Okay, I'll scope out from the skies and come back with an update," Kiki said as she then flew into the air very high and into the distance, us staying in place for roughly a minute before she returned with a wide smile on her face.

"Great news! There's actually some kind of settlement directly north of our location! They've got a big beacon of fire and a big walled gate! No doubt we can find shelter there!" Kiki smirked, me smiling at her and giving her a bit of Red Eco for the job well done, since, oddly enough, we were allowed to keep our weapons after getting banished.

"Okay, then we go north... which way is north again?" Daxter asked.

"This way! Follow me," Kiki said, me nodding as we then followed her on foot, since all of us combined were too much for Kiki to carry. She may have gotten tougher since reaching adulthood, but she was still only as big as I was, which wasn't much. We ended up walking for a good 30 minutes in the blazing hot sun until we could finally see the beacon that Kiki mentioned.

"There... I see it... we need to get there..." I puffed from being tired as we then moved forward again after a small break underneath the shade of a palm tree. By the time we finally got there, however, all of us were extremely exhausted, even Kiki. We then collapsed right at the front entrance to the city, just as the doors opened up. I tried to stay awake to see who the people were, but it was very difficult because I could feel some kind of stinging sensation happen to me whenever I tried to open my eyes.

"Looks like we have some live ones here. And they have a beacon on them," said a very gruff voice, me then looking in front of me with my eyes squinted to see that the beacon had fallen out of my bra in the process of me falling to the ground.

"An' why does this lass 'ere 'ave all that gray skin? An' a glowin' 'ead on top o' that?" asked another voice, this one sounding cockney.

"She's... my daughter..." I managed to groan as I then held onto the one guy's ankles with barely any strength left in me. "Water... please..." I groaned.

"Get them in here. And hurry it up. There's a storm coming," the gruff voice said, me finally passing out soon after.


	28. Meeting Long Lost Faces

**Chapter 28:  
**

When I woke up next, I saw that I was actually in a small pool of water and that my allies were also next to me and were busy drinking from it, including Daxter. I decided to take a swig myself as well.

"Ah... I love water. It's so good... desert bad!" Daxter said as a gruff voice then started to speak from behind us.

"Well, you've come back from the dead finally. And my monks were ready to pray for you," the gruff voice said as I saw who it belonged to. It was a guy who has some very fine hairs growing on the sides of his head, he was dressed in warrior attire, and he looked pretty tough with his large staff and spikes on his shoulder armor.

"Yeah, can you tell us who you are and where we are, now that Jak's awake?" Sasha asked with annoyance, me smiling at that.

"I am Damas, the king of Spargus City," Damas said, Sasha gasping at that.

"Damas?!" Sasha asked before she then did the oddest thing. She knelt before him and then looked at us and it looked like she expected us to do the same. "Forgive me, sire... I didn't know what kind of hell I was in for when I married that asshole, Baron Praxis... I regret that day that I was forced to banish you..." Sasha said, me only then connecting two and two together to realize something shocking. This Damas... he was the original ruler of Haven City!... But that could only mean one more thing... he was... my father! I immediately knelt after Sasha said that, knowing that he probably wouldn't believe a word of what I had to say if I just outright told him I was his son.

"How very odd... you say you were a part of that team that banished me and my wife, bless her heart, to the Wastelands all that time ago? And that you married Praxis?" Damas asked, Sasha nodding at that.

"At the time, I was on the KG team... and I divorced Praxis almost two years ago after he showed me what he was doing to my friend Jak, here... Jak? Care to show what that is?" Sasha asked, me nodding as I then went dark form for just long enough so that Damas got the gist before I then turned back to normal. I'd gotten much better control of my feral side since Sasha and I gave more Precursor Orbs to the Oracle after the ordeal with Metal Kor had ended, after all.

"I do not fully understand... could you elaborate on this, Errol?" Damas asked, me hearing hostility when he said Errol's name. I guess he knew Errol as well.

"Hmph. He and Sasha were put into a program that injected Dark Eco into their bloodstream for a long period of time. I still have no idea how Jak survived for 2 years and Sasha 1 year, however..." Errol frowned.

"It's because we had Light Eco in our bodies that was able to counter the Dark Eco. Jak used his long ago when fighting a very powerful baddie while I got an injection of Light Eco when I was 8 years old... it was mainly because I had a horrible sickness that almost killed me," Sasha said.

"I see... either way, now that you are awake, it is time to prove how useful and deadly you lot can be. Here in the unforgiving Wastelands we value strength and survival above all us. Either prove your worth or you'll be considered dead weight," Damas said, Kiki frowning at him afterwards.

"You still have yet to apologize for poking me with that sharp object you call a gun," Kiki frowned, Damas frowning at that.

"Sorry, miss. Though I must say, it is very odd to have a Metal Head in Spargus, one that is able to think and act exactly like a human," Damas smiled.

"That's because I found her as an infant and she then merged her traits with me and Sasha, since both of us have Dark Eco in our bloodstream and there were no Metal Heads around at the time. She's actually a Metal Head Scout, but she's evolved to look more humanoid while also having the wings and acrobatics of a Scout with some powerful bombs on top of that," I explained.

"I feel that's all the introductions out of the way then. I will meet you all in the combat arena. In there, you will fight for your right to stay in Spargus. Only the bravest and the toughest are able to crawl out alive," Damas said.

"And what happens to the ones that don't crawl out?" Daxter asked.

"Then it will be as if we never found you," Damas said, Daxter gulping at that.

"I was afraid you'd say that," Dax frowned as we then proceeded to the arena alongside Damas and we actually learned that we had to take turns in the arena, though luckily me and Daxter were considered one entity either way. And when we got there, we saw that there was a certain other person near a throne that Damas sat in. One that I knew from way back in Sandover Village!

"What the hell?! Is that the Muse? What's she doing here?" I asked, the Muse looking at me with a smile and then did something shocking.

"Huh? I know I've seen your faces before, but I can't quite place it... ooh, what does it matter anyways? Being alive since the dawn of time can leave the brain a bit scattered at times," the Muse actually spoke! It was so surprising, since the Muse didn't talk at all back in the past!

"Don't you remember? We saved you from that Misty Island place a long while ago! Jak and Daxter, remember?" Dax asked, the Muse then looking at Dax with a glare.

"Oh, I remember now! You stuffed me inside that horribly tight backpack!... But wasn't that a very, very long time ago, though? How are you two still alive?... Unless you are also eternally young?" the Muse asked, me shaking my head no at that.

"Sorry, but no. We used some strange rift ring and we were sent 2 thousand years into the future after going through it... but we'd rather not get into it, because it's a whole lot of confusion as to how we got here in the first place," I admitted, the Muse smiling at me.

"Got it. Anyways, now that that's out of the way... Prepare the arena for full combat! It's time for you two to prove you can fight with the best of them! Prepare the Marauders and Matter Formers!" the Muse exclaimed, Damas smirking at that and me being confused as Dax and I then got lowered down to the arena and we saw that we had to take out at least 30 different combatants, all of them being released from odd containers that jutted out of the molten lava. I quickly started the match by using my Blaster to attack the warriors directly through their chests while Daxter fired a couple blasts from his Lazerus, as he decided to call it, him managing to slice off the heads of a couple different combatants in the process.

We managed to defeat 20 of them before I then got surrounded by the last ten and decided to go Dark Mode to use what I called the Dark Bomb, which completely annihilated all of the remaining warriors in the vicinity as I then went to the podium and turned back to normal... only to feel a massive headache after I saw some odd white-faced person staring me down from the exit platform, me groaning at that as Damas then smiled.

"Your victory has earned you your first battle amulet. If you are successful in two more arena fights, you will earn citizenship to Spargus. And for your victory, a gun mod is your prize," Damas smiled as he showed off the gun mod in question and I smiled at it. It was an upgrade to the Scatter Gun which turned it into a new type of Red Eco weapon altogether! I then decided to use it as a test run and smiled at how it actually fired underneath me for a bit of a jump as well as leave a ring of red eco in its wake!

"This is cool!" I smiled as I then looked over to the exit again... only to see that the one that was previously standing there had left already. "Who was that?" I asked myself with just air as I then proceeded over to the exit, wondering how the others would do in their trials.


	29. Monks and Artifacts

**Chapter 29**

Each of us others in the group had to complete our arena fights after Jak and Daxter and it was a breeze for all of us. After this, I proceeded to go to an area that looked out towards the ocean and noticed Jak and Daxter were going towards a group of monks that were next to a very dangerous artifact. I went towards them and decided to ask a question.

"What's going on over here?" I asked, one of the monks speaking soon after.

"It is none of your concern, darkened ones," the guy said, me frowning at that.

"Listen, it's not like either of us wanted to get Dark Eco painfully injected into our bloodstream after being arrested for little to no reason at all," I frowned at her in an annoyed manner, the person looking at me and Jak with a frown afterwards.

"You say that you did not ask to be touched by darkness?" the monk asked, me nodding at that.

"We were forcibly injected with the stuff back in Haven City. The pain was like getting a bunch of painful needles pierced into your skin while giving birth in a pool of toxic acid. And no, I am not exaggerating," I frowned, the monk sighing afterwards.

"Regardless, it is able to be seen by my eyes... the darkness destroys all, just as these Precursors destroyed themselves," the monk said as he showed the strange artifact to us and Daxter spoke.

"Doesn't look like any Precursor crap we've seen!" he said.

"These artifacts are abominations. These Precursors demolished their own kind with darkness. One of these fell into the great volcano at the center of the desert, but my monk team that went to investigate never returned... I fear that the end of times is upon us," the monk said, me looking at him with a frown.

"Sorry, sir, but-" I said before they corrected me.

"I'm a female," the monk said, me immediately slapping my face afterwards.

"Miss... I feel I do not understand what's going on. How come this thing is Precursor technology despite it looking like some kind of Dark Eco atrocity?" I asked.

"Because of that," the monk said as she pointed to the sky and I saw something surprising. It was a very bright light that was purple in color. "That is the Day Star, and with it will come nothing but strife, destruction, and turmoil. This planet's final trial is coming..." the monk said as I then decided to poke the machine and I was shocked at how it actually came to life and produced some very odd looking mechanized thing to it. It looked like some kind of heart and I then started to see some bits of Dark Eco proceed towards the heart itself, me deciding to poke them with my fingers through some moving holes, which managed to kill the dark eco as it got absorbed by my fingers. I did this for at least 60 of the little dark eco spheres until the machine then produced some odd-looking crystal.

"I think you got it, mom," Kiki smiled as I saw she appeared as well. I went to reach for it, but the monk halted me.

"Don't touch it! Dark Eco!" she said, me simply ignoring her and grabbing it, Daxter smiling at that.

"Ah, you're impressed now, aren't ya? Go on, give her some props," Daxter smiled as I then put the crystal in my bag.

"Those are solid eco crystals, which contain vast energies," the monk said as I then looked at the strange machine and saw that it was speaking a very old dialect, the monk looking at it with intrigue. "Strange... it speaks some of the earliest Precursor language... it's saying something about reclaiming this unfinished world..." the monk said as I inspected it and gasped.

"Those coordinates... it's directed at Haven City!" I gawked.

"It is picking up a very powerful signal..." the monk said as I motioned everyone to get back. And sure enough, the thing came to life and actually tried to fly in the air, but Kiki quickly dispatched of it with a Red Eco bomb, which blue the machine to kingdom come, the monk looking at our group with a frown.

"I doubt even your group can save us from this, even if you claim to be heroes," the monk frowned.

"Hey, I'm the real hero here! You can call me Orange Lightning! Za-za-zing!" Daxter gloated.

"You may carry the color of our creators, animal, but I fear that your group may not be skilled enough to defeat the Day Star. You must be vigilant and careful. Beware of the darkness overtaking your mindsets. Especially concerning your unique Horaquan," the monk said with a frown, me smirking at how she knew the ancient term for Metal Head.

"Don't worry, miss... we'll be careful, so long as you promise to do the same," I said as I led our group away from them and Jak looked at me with a smile.

"So what do we do now?" Kiki asked as I then noticed that Errol was joining us shortly after.

"Well, this one guy called Kliever said he'd loan us one of his racing vehicles, so let's go check out the garages," Jak suggested, me nodding at that as we then did just that, seeing that Kliever was there already and I saw that he looked pretty repulsive. Very heavy, wearing a diaper and a loincloth, and smelling even worse than Krew somehow.

"I see ya buggers got a few friends with ya," the fat guy named Kliever said as I looked him in the eye.

"Yes, we're allies. We were all banished at the same time, very unfairly I might add," I frowned.

"And you said we could use one of these vehicles, right?" Jak asked.

"I did, didn't I?" Kliever smirked as I noticed that all of the cars looked very rad! They had spikes, machine guns, some even had grenade launchers! "I call dibs on this one!" I smirked as I got in one called the Desert Screamer before Kliever looked at me with animosity.

"Not one of those. Those are for the big boys," Kliever said, me frowning at him.

"Oh really? Buddy, you're talking to a girl who killed a Metal Mammoth with nothing but my bare hands. I'd say I'm classified as being 'big boys' material," I bragged at him, Kliever frowning at that.

"Heh, you say that, but do ya have the proof?" Kliever asked, me then grabbing the picture from my bra that was of me holding the Metal Mammoth head high in the air and showing off the claw marks I made on its neck. "Huh. I guess ya are big boys material! Right then, you can ride these vehicles anytime, same with yer little Metal Head friend. As fer you and the rat, you can have this one," Kliever said, him pointing to a very tiny and very fragile-looking car for Jak and Daxter, me smirking at that.

"Hah! What a runt!" Daxter exclaimed.

"Seems to fit you, eh?" Kliever asked, Errol then frowning at him.

"And what about me, palooka?" Errol asked angrily, since he was always in a mood.

"Ah, right. Yer the biggest in the big smoke, right? Well, how's about this. You can get a vehicle, but only after you can get your second amulet. Sound fair enough, yabber?" Kliever asked, Errol smirking at that offer and simply slapping his hand against Kliever's face, me gasping at that as I had a feeling Kliever would get into a nasty scrape with Errol, but Kliever simply laughed. "Wot? You think that's gonna affect me, pretty boy? I've been a Wastelander me whole life! My body's like a suit of armor, face included! A measly slap ain't gon' do shit," Kliever smirked as I then saw that Errol's hand did look a bit hurt from the blow. "Though I gotta admit, not many are able to actually have the gall to hit me with anythin'. Ya got some fight in ya, that's for sure. Ya can go 'ead an' use the big boy vehicles if ya want," Kliever said, Errol frowning before then smirking at the fatty and grabbing his own car, it being a very big one that had a gattling gun mounted up top and it being a very bulky vehicle altogether.

"An as for you two nippers, you can have that vehicle for as long as ya live. But we'll just see how long that lasts, haha!" Kliever chortled before he then left and Damas came through the door along with the Muse. But I knew who Damas really was. Jak's father.

"Hey, Lord Damas?" I asked, getting his attention.

"Yes? What is it?" he asked me.

"Just out of curiosity... what happened to the former queen?" I asked, Damas simply pointing at the Muse and me being confused.

"I... I don't really understand," I said before the Muse then smirked at me widely.

"Hehe, just watch this," the Muse smirked as she then simply changed her form and I was gobsmacked, as was Jak! Now she looked more like a human!... Only this time, she actually had smaller ears than the rest of us, she was in a scantily clad outfit, and she had hair that actually floated above her head like it was in a storm. "You're probably wondering how this is possible, so I'll tell you. Remember the sculptor, Jak?" the Muse asked, him nodding at that. "Well, he married me one day and I then was able to discover this form soon after. Turns out, I was actually an ancient genie that had been turned into a Muse by Gol and Maia when I first ran away to Misty Island long before we met the first time. And now, I can switch between the forms at any time I wish... and Damas here is my most recent husband," the Muse smiled, me looking at Jak and seeing that he was a bit taken aback. I would be too if I learned that my mother was actually a glowing squirrel/genie woman.

"You think you have good vehicle skills, per chance?" Damas asked our group, me smirking at that.

"Yep, I'd say so. Errol was the champ in the Haven City races for four consecutive years while I got to be the champ almost a year ago with Jak being my racing partner," Sasha smirked.

"And as for me, I'm good at driving, but I prefer flying better," Kiki smiled as she showed off her wings on her back.

"Indeed. Fresh storms churn up the sand and reveal artifacts that have been buried for millennia. If you get to them first, their your's to keep. But fair warning. If you get caught up in the storms, they will tear the flesh from your very bones. So if you see the sand begin to kick up violently around you, that's your cue to get back as fast as you can," Damas said, me nodding at that.

"Got it. Let's race to find the most artifacts, guys! The one who finds the least gets to do the laundry tonight!" I smirked as the doors then slid open and we then zoomed out, all of us rushing to get into the lead on the outside, hunting for artifacts all over the place.

* * *

It came as no surprise that Kiki got the most artifacts and that she actually managed to get some cool arm guards that she decided to give one of them to Jak and the other to herself. And the one in last place happened to be Jak and Dax, since their car was much slower compared our cars. But Jak did manage to get some armor for myself during the excursion, namely a piece of shoulder armor and a breastplate, which he gave the breastplate to me since it was for females.

"Alright, that was a successful run, but now you two gotta pay up," I smirked at Jak widely.

"Yeah, we're aware. Laundry tonight, right?" Jak smirked at me coyly.

"Yep. But don't worry, I've only sweated, like, all day today," I giggled, being truthful.

"Same here," Errol said with a frown, as per usual.

"Then that's all of us, huh?" Daxter asked.

"Except for me and you, since we don't wear clothes," Kiki said to Dax, him frowning.

"Yeah, don't remind me. I wish I had pants again," Daxter said with a groan.

"I can imagine. But from what I heard, I think that Tess said she'd be willing to make you a pair one day... at least, if we could get back to Haven City, but that's not happening anytime soon," I said with a frown.

"Yeah, don't remind me," Jak sighed. And I could see that he was still feeling a bit bitter at how the city, which we saved from both Praxis and Metal Kor, decided we were better off dead.

"Let's just go back and see what else we can do," I suggested, the others agreeing and proceeding into the city of Spargus once more.


	30. Wasteland Metal Heads

**Chapter 30**

Upon returning to Spargus, we came across the monk again and she was next to a couple of Leaper Lizards, her looking at us with a frown.

"I see you came back," she said, me nodding at that.

"Yeah, we thought we'd take a break from that sand storm and catch some rays," I said, the monk frowning at that.

"This isn't a game!" she said, me and Dax looking at Sasha and Errol and them simply smiling.

"You know, we never got your name, miss. So what is it?" Sasha asked.

"I am Seem. We monks are sworn to protect the last sacred relics of the Precursors. These Leaper Lizards allow us to traverse where you cannot," the monk said, Sasha looking at the lizard with a smile.

"These things look kinda cute, to be honest. So what do they eat?" Sasha asked. But then the Leaper Lizard grabbed a hold of Daxter and tried to eat him, me being shocked at that and Kiki immediately beginning to wrestle with the lizard to get Daxter out of its mouth!

"That's your answer," I smiled.

"I fear for what may become of you if you wish to be foolish enough to traverse the great volcano... I have an idea. If your female friends can beat me and my monks in a Leaper Lizard race, I'll give you a Light Eco crystal as proof that you can be able to traverse the volcano and its dangers," Seem said as I saw that Kiki was still wrestling the lizard for Daxter. "Siem com tamma!" Seem said, the lizard immediately letting go of Daxter soon after, Kiki breathing a sigh of relief afterwards. "Baroosh baroosh..."

"Okay, just show us where the starting line is and we'll prove how fast us girls are, right Kiki?" Sasha smirked, Kiki nodding at that as I looked at Errol and Dax, who was covered with spit.

"So... what do we do now?" I asked, Errol frowning at that and staying silent. We then got a call from Kliever, since he gave me his number after he gave us the job of cleaning out the kangarats.

"Oi, ya buggers! I got a job for ya at the garage. It's time to see if ya can handle another one o' me toys," Kliever said, me smirking at that.

"You want to join, mister upside-down smile?" Daxter asked, Errol frowning at that again.

"I'd prefer to stay behind and get some food," Errol said, me frowning at that as he then grabbed a lizard of his own and proceeded forward into the city. Even though he did say he owed a life debt to Sasha, he was still insisting to be a jerk to me and Dax all the time, despite learning from Sasha that I was actually the prince of Haven. If anything, I think that pretty much made him even more spiteful of me.

"I think my first exchange with him is as true as ever. I said 'have a good day' when I went to kill some bugs at the Palace and find out your cell number, and his response was 'I never do.' It's like he's programmed to be a jerk or something," Daxter frowned.

"Gotta admit, that exchange sounds funny," I smirked before Dax and I then proceeded to the garage to meet up with Kliever, him looking at our duo with a frown.

"You boys ready to prove yerselves? Scopes show that there's a group of Metal Heads not far from here. I don't like Metal Heads almost as I don't like you and you've got some provin' to do," Kliever said with a frown. "Intercept those bad boys with the Sand Shark 'ere and give 'em hell. Who knows, you may even get some toys for yer effort."

"Why does it sound like you're leaving out the dangerous parts?" Daxter asked.

"Who cares? A few Metal Heads never let us down before," I smirked.

"You ever seen a Wasteland Metal Head?" Kliever asked.

"Do Metal Mantises and Metal Mammoths count?" I asked.

"Naw, they don't. The Metal Heads around here are bigger and badder than any of the ones anywhere else. You'll see what I mean when ya fight 'em. Only a vehicle can get through their thick hides. Good luck, blighters," Kliever chuckled as I got into the car that Kliever told and I then proceeded out towards the area where the radar detected the Metal Heads. And when I saw them, I was pretty impressed. They looked like gigantic dinosaurs with cannons on their backs!

"This is gonna be fun! Let me at one of them with my green gun! I wanna see what it does!" Daxter smirked as I then got into a good position with the Sand Shark and Daxter then shot a green eco laser through the skull of the first one we got and I was surprised at how the laser actually burnt through the thick hide and out the other side!

"Sweet! Keira does it again!" I smirked widely as the Metal Head was down and we still had three to go. We proceeded to do the same thing for the others and we actually got a Dark Eco crystal from the last of them... but then something happened from a small device that also fell alongside it.

"Metal Head Commander, come in! I said come in! If you lost that cargo and you're still alive, I'll kill you myself!" said a very oddly familiar female voice. One that had reverb to it. "I want every last Dark Eco crystal you can find! Are you even listening to me?!" the voice asked as I then looked at the face... I had to admit, it was a bit fuzzy, but I knew I'd seen it before. But I walked up to the communicator and got the attention of the one on the other end. "Wait... not you! AARGH!" she exclaimed as I slammed my foot down on the communicator and I smiled.

"I don't like the tone of your voice," I frowned.

"Hah! You sure kicked sand in her face!" Daxter smiled, me giving him a fist bump at that.

"Hey, you don't think that voice sounded familiar, do you?... Not like a familiar voice from this world, but from when we knew... Muse?" I asked, Daxter looking at me with confusion.

"You're thinking that lady was from the past? Who would still be alive from all that time back then?" Dax asked.

"Only two people I can think of... that we defeated shortly before finding the Rift Ring," I said, Daxter looking at me and then gulping shortly after.

"You mean... Gol and Maia?" he asked.

"I think so," I frowned.

"Well, just like I said before. Bring 'em on, we can take 'em again! Especially with our new upgrades!" Daxter smirked widely.

"Yeah, you're right, Dax. Now let's get back to the city. It's starting to get dark out," I smiled, me and Dax doing just that and seeing Errol at the front gate, him just as moody as ever. "Hey," I said.

"Sasha requested I show you to the place we're going to be staying at. Follow me," Errol said as I could feel the animosity with every word he spoke, me deciding I'd have to have a small chat with Sasha in private about Errol's constant moodiness. He then showed us to the house in question, it being next to the ocean and me seeing that it was very quaint on the inside. The only downside was the space, which was just big enough for all of us and only if we shared beds.

"Hey, boys! Time for you to pay up," Sasha smirked as she threw something at me. Her dirty clothes, them all smelling very bad from the sweat. "And make sure you get all the nooks and crannies," she giggled as Errol immediately got on the only single cot and crashed hard. Once I heard him snoring, I decided to pop the question to Sasha while he was sleeping.

"Hey, Sasha? How come Errol's been very moody towards me and Daxter lately? No matter what we do, he never treats us with any bit of kindness," I asked her with a hushed voice.

"He's just been in a pissy mood since being banished by the citizens. And keep in mind, he was ordered to find the kid version of you at any cost. I have no doubt in my mind that he's also angry because he learned you were that kid, meaning you were the heir to Haven before Praxis overthrew the king... by the way, I'm sure you know who that king is... as well as his wife?" Sasha asked me, changing the subject to something that was a bit touchy for me.

"Yeah... I didn't expect my father and mother were in the Wasteland... and that my mom is a glowing squirrel that can turn into a genie... I wonder if that's why my younger version was considered as pure?" I asked in confusion.

"Well, I was going to ask you if I could speak to Muse tomorrow at some point, since you two knew each other from the past. She might be more willing to believe the truth than Damas, after all," Sasha suggested, me smirking at that.

"It'd be appreciated, but don't be surprised if she doesn't believe a word," I said with a small chuckle as I finally managed to wash Sasha's stinky clothes and I then put them out to dry on a small clothesline in the bathroom.

"Oh, and be careful not to waste too much water. The only water we get is from that ocean nearby, so we have to boil it to get the salt out of it before we can drink it safely," Kiki said, me nodding at that.

"Got it," I smiled as I then looked at the remaining two beds and Sasha then nudged her fingers underneath my chin.

"How about we sleep together while Dax and Kiki do the same? I want to cuddle," Sasha smirked, me blushing at that and having no idea why.

"Um... sure, I guess," I said, Sasha giggling at that.

"You're so cute when you're bashful," she smiled as she then got me on the bed and we pulled the covers over us to go to sleep while Daxter slept next to Kiki, who was actually a small night light with her glowing skull gem. It still felt so surreal that this was going to be our life now, but we just had to learn to accept it at some point.


	31. Musing with the Metal Heads

**Chapter 31**

Upon our group waking up the next morning, I smiled at how Jak had his arms wrapped around me in a boy's favorite spot to touch a girl at, me smirking and nudging him awake and Jak being shocked and immediately blushing afterwards.

"Aw, you're so cute when embarrassed, Jak! You don't need to be, though, we're a couple after all," I smiled, Jak still blushing at that and Errol smirking at that while Dax and Kiki laughed a bit.

"Let's just go talk to Damas and Muse about getting our next arena fight. I want to smash some heads to get rid of this tension," Jak said with a smile, me nodding at that as we then proceeded out of the house and down to the king's quarters to meet with Damas, me kneeling before him after seeing him and him smirking at that.

"You don't need to be so modest, Sasha. You know that, right?" Damas asked, me smiling at that.

"I know, I just want to give you respect, my lordship... I feel it's required after I ruined your life all that time ago when I was in love with Praxis... how much of a fool I was," I said, my smile turning into a scowl by the end.

"You don't need to worry. I survived and made a refuse for those that are banished to the Wasteland. I save the ones that are sent to death and offer them citizenship to Spargus so long as they can fight to survive like I have," Damas said.

"Also, just an aside, but we wanted to know if we could have our next arena fights. And I wanted to talk to the queen after my fight," I smiled, Damas smiling at that.

"Of course, I can allow that. We shall meet at the arena," Damas said, our groups proceeding to the arena and me taking my turn first, seeing that there was 30 fighters again and that the arena now had 4 different platforms with 2 warrior supplying machines each. I proceeded to go Dark to start things out and proceeded to slash apart the baddies that came at me. I managed to get 15 before the platform I was on began to sink into the lava, which meant I had to move to the next platform, where I proceeded to kill the remaining 15 with my new Wave Concussor weapon as my prize from the first battle. I did so easily and then proceeded to the victory platform to meet with Damas and the Muse.

"Well done, Sasha! I'd heard you were great in combat during your time spent in Haven, but seeing it for myself is pretty impressive," Damas smiled as the Muse then jumped down to my position in her squirrel form with my prizes, those being another amulet piece and a gun upgrade for the Blaster.

"So what's this gun upgrade do?" I asked as I cocked it into my morph gun.

"It's called the Beam Refluxor. It fires ricochet bullets that bounce to a new direction after hitting an object or enemy. They disappear after 10 ricochets," Muse smiled, me smirking at that.

"Okay, thanks, my queen... can we go speak in private now?" I asked, the queen nodding as we then proceeded to the waiting wings and I then started to speak to her in her genie form.

"So what did you wish to talk to me about, Sasha?" she asked me with a smile.

"Okay... I'm just going to cut straight to the chase. I know the location of you and Damas's son, Mar," I said, the queen gasping at that.

"Y-You do?! Well spit it out!" she said, me smirking at that.

"You can't miss him. He's always got a talking orange rat on his shoulder," I said, the queen looking at me with a frown and angry eyes.

"Is this a joke?" she asked, me shaking my head no.

"Recall that Jak and Daxter came from 2 thousand years ago and that you first met them on Misty Island. Well, we sent your son, Mar, back in time to roughly 16 years before you would meet him on that island," I said, the Muse looking at me with shock and only then connecting the dots.

"S-So... Mar... Jak... they're the same person? My son... is Jak?" she asked.

"It's confusing, isn't it? Well, I was surprised when I learned it myself, right from the Metal Head Leader's mouth. Daxter has his head hanging back in Haven City at his tavern," I said, the Muse looking at me with a frown before she then grabbed me by the shoulder and sighed.

"It is... but I do believe every word of what you say... but Damas, on the other hand? I doubt he'd believe a single word. He's always believed in the bare basics for technology and he's terrified of the concept of flying vehicles like the ones that were made in Haven City... I promise that I'll keep quiet about this, but I will be more open to Jak from now on, provided Damas isn't around to cause trouble. Okay?" she said, me nodding at that.

"Sounds like a plan," I smirked at her as Kiki then finished her round up and joined me next in the wings.

"By the way, I've always wanted to ask since your arrival, but how were you able to tame a Metal Head and have it take on a very human-like appearance?" the queen asked.

"Well, miss Muse-" I was about to say before she corrected me.

"Please, call me Marigold," she said, me nodding at that.

"Marigold... Kiki was born from a Metal Head after Jak killed it back in Haven City. But because Jak was the only one around at the time, and the fact that him and I have dark eco in our bloodstream, Kiki was able to gain our traits upon being born, including morphing her more adult forms to be more humanoid to match mine and Jak's appearances. Also, despite being a Metal Head Scout upon being born, she also has quite the amazing combat abilities, as I'm sure you noticed," I smirked, Marigold nodding at that.

"That I did. You're very quick and nimble on the battlefield and those bombs are quite deadly," Marigold smiled. "Anyways, I think I could ask you to do something for me, as requested by Seem," she said, me smiling at that.

"Yeah? What is it?" I asked.

"I would like you two to go to the volcano and inspect whatever the heck was the cause of the monks never returning... especially since it concerns that odd purple light in the sky and that weird purple machine that fell into eastern Spargus," she said, me nodding at that.

"Want to go take a trip through the skies, Kiki?" I smirked, her smiling at that and nodding.

"Let's get out of this place and then we'll fly off immediately. Just hold on as tight as you can, mom," Kiki smirked, me smirking widely at that. We then did just that and Kiki got into position after letting out her wings. I then had her grab me with her arms and legs and she had me cling close to her before she then jetted off into the skies with her very powerful wings. We proceeded to fly through the air over the entire wasteland and then into the top of the giant volcano through a hole near the peak. Once inside, we then got onto an elevated height and I could hear some scuttling begin to happen.

"Be on alert, hon," I said, Kiki nodding as she turned on her invisibility and we proceeded with caution, me immediately getting to see something was around... and when I did see it, I was surprised. It was a whole slew of Metal Mantises!... that were just staring at us. They didn't actively try and attack and they just looked to be staring us down while making small clicking sounds.

"Kiki... are they talking?" I asked, her nodding.

"They're saying that they want you to meet their leader... I didn't know there were other Metal Head Leaders other than Kor, mom," Kiki said to me.

"I didn't either... please, lead us there. But if you attack, your dead meat," I said, the Mantises simply hopping ahead up a steep incline and me and Kiki following them over a flowing river of lava and up towards the summit, where we saw the large dark satellite that Seem mentioned earlier, along with a bunch of Monks that looked to have been turned into stone from a strange gem that one of them held, filled with Dark Eco.

But that wasn't the scary part. The scary part was that there was a very large Metal Head that was on the large satellite and I could tell it was definitely a Metal Head Leader just by size alone. It was a bit bigger than a Metalpede and it had a giant Skull Gem that was on its head. But it also had a head that looked an awful lot like it was a lion's.

"So, you decide to join me at my lair, do you? It's been awfully lonely since these guys kicked the bucket," the big Metal Head said, its voice sounding very feminine, yet full of reverb at the same time.

"I... don't really know what's going on here... why aren't you trying to kill me right now?" I asked with a gulp.

"Because I know I wouldn't stand a chance... that would be reason number one, slayer of Metal Kor," the giant Metal Head said, me gulping at that. "And the second reason is... well... I need your help," she said as she pointed to the giant satellite and I tilted my head. "There are actually 3 other Metal Head Leaders other than Kor, each of us living in the four different civilized areas of this large continent. I, Metal Morah, reside here, in the Wastelands of Spargus... Kor resided outside of Haven, but you killed him effortlessly. Metal Speetunc lives in the area close to Kras City... and Metal Fridgion lives in the nomadic Icelands... and we've found a very bad problem caused by the thing you know as the Day Star," the giant Metal Head Leader said, me being a bit surprised at that.

"So... you need help to get rid of the Day Star? Why?" I asked.

"This Day Star is actually filled with creatures powered by Dark Eco... they are hoping to destroy this entire planet and are forcing our offspring to join their cause... all those Metal Heads invading Haven City and attacking the people of Spargus during treks through the desert? Those ones are being controlled in their minds to fight for their sick goals... but to be quite frank, us Metal Head Leaders have no desire to kill, with the exception of the lunatic Kor. We just want to remain either a neutral party or help you humans out. It's a common misconception that Metal Heads require eco to survive. It just speeds up our evolution process, such as your little Kiki friend," Morah said, Kiki being a bit bashful at that.

"Well... I did eat a lot to get to this point," she said bashfully.

"So how would we go about in getting the Day Star destroyed?" I asked her.

"Well, step one is for you and your boyfriend to utilize the Light Eco in your bloodstream. Go to the Precursor Temple via the warp gate where you came in from and go speak with the Precursors there. They can help you learn to use Light Eco for your endeavors," Morah said, me nodding at that as I then looked at Kiki and I decided to call Jak on his communicator on the way back.

"Hey, Jak? Where are you at right now?" I asked.

"I just got done herding some Leaper Lizards to a corral with Kliever and he gave me a vehicle with amazing jumping features. Why do you ask?" he asked me.

"I want you to meet me and Kiki at the Precursor Temple. I got a good tip that the temple could hold some secrets to share about how to use the Light Eco in our blood for good use. I'll meet you there with Kiki," I said.

"Okay, I don't know where you're going with this, but it sounds pretty cool! So who gave you the tip?" Jak asked.

"Well... that's gonna be the hard part to tell you... and Errol... and the guys in Spargus..." I said with a sigh. I just winced as I said the words out loud. "Her name is Metal Morah... she's a Metal Head Leader inside of the volcano," I said, it actually making me hurt from the wincing that came after.


	32. Temples and Storms

**Chapter 32**

After that news that Sasha gave me, it immediately made me shocked. Another Metal Head Leader that lived in the volcano? And one that actually gave advice to get me and Sasha powered up with Light Eco capabilities? The moment Dax and I heard this, we immediately went to the temple at the southern-most island of the Wastelands and proceeded inside to see Sasha and Kiki were there and waiting.

"I'm sure you've got a lot of questions, don't you, Prince?" Sasha asked, me smiling and nodding at that.

"A lot, actually. First off, was the Metal Head Leader the cause of the monks going missing?" I asked, that being my first question.

"No, she wasn't. One of the monks picked up something that looked like this artifact over here and it turned the group of them into stone soon after. It's filled with Dark Eco and it actually is able to turn me invisible. I'd recommend keeping Daxter in your backpack, since the only way forward past that Precursor Watcher is by being unable to be seen," Sasha said, pointing to the giant, white, floating eye that was blocking the way into the temple proper.

"I see... second question, why is a Metal Head Leader helping us after we killed Kor?" I asked.

"Two reasons. One, she knows she wouldn't stand a chance against our group. And two, all three of the remaining Metal Head Leaders require some help. For some reason, something in the Day Star is forcing most of their offspring to attack Haven and try to get closer to the Catacombs," Sasha explained as I then followed her lead after she turned herself invisible and Daxter hid in my backpack so he'd be out of sight. We then went past the giant eyeball and the door opened up shortly after, forcing it to leave altogether.

"Third question... how many more Metal Head Leaders are there and where are they?" I asked.

"Those would be Metal Morah, who I spoke with, Metal Speetunc, who lives near a place called Kras City, and Metal Fridgion lives in the Icelands. They actually want to be able to be a neutral party and actually help us humans out, as opposed to Kor, which Morah said was a lunatic among the four," Sasha said, me finding that last bit hard to believe. We then moved down into the temple and we came across a large room filled with robots that were very advanced.

"Huh... KG Defense Sniper robots? What are these doing here?" Sasha asked as she then simply sent a charged up Peacemaker shot at the group of robots and destroyed them all in one go, me smirking at that. "Ah, Peacemaker, my beloved overpowered gun," Sasha smiled afterwards, me smirking at that. I then hit the switch in the middle and we then proceeded through the next opening, only to be ambushed by a whole bunch of spiders!

"This temple has seen better days, huh?" Kiki asked with a smirk before she then stopped in place upon seeing something surprising. More Precursor Watchers in the next room. "Stay here, I'm going invisible and taking these things out one by one," she smiled as she then simply did just that. While invisible, she connected her very sticky Red Eco bombs to each one of the floating eyeballs until all of them had been demolished all at once, the way now being open for us to go through, which we didn't hesitate in doing so.

"Thank goodness for your Scout abilities, Kiki," I smiled at her. We then made it to a more open area with a gigantic Precursor Statue... but there were two people that were on a different platform that were speaking. It was Seem and Count Vegar! I immediately had all of us hide behind a pillar while Kiki listened in while invisible.

"I want no excuses! You said this could be done quickly, now make it so!" Vegar exclaimed at Seem.

"But we have so little time... the Day Star approaches, you know what it brings!" Seem said with worry as I then frowned. What was Vegar's plan?

"I'm well aware. You just continue to supply me with information about the Catacombs while I deal with those idiots in Haven! I promise that you will meet your makers soon enough," Vegar said as Kiki then watched him walk away and she then jumped over to Seem and blocked her from leaving with Vegar.

"Shh..." she said as Kiki then whisked her over to our platform and she looked a little bit spooked.

"Seem, we need to have a talk," Sasha said, Seem looking at our group in surprise.

"What are you all doing here?" Seem asked.

"We came here to try and find some way to control the Light Eco in our bloodstream... only to find out that you're conspiring with the asshole that banished us to the Wasteland in the first place, very unfairly I may add," Sasha said, Seem sighing at that.

"I knew that already... and I know another thing that Vegar himself has done," Seem sighed, me being confused at that. "The Palace of Haven City didn't fall because of the enemy KG or Metal Heads... Vegar gave the command and then killed the one that fired the mortars so they wouldn't talk. He needed quick access to the Catacombs to combat the perils of the Day Star," Seem said, me gasping at that and Sasha looking very mad.

"He... He killed all those innocent people... just because he wanted to get somewhere faster?... Why that no-good, callous, horrible asshole! The next I see him, I'm gonna drive my foot so far up his crotch that his nuts will get lodged in his throat!" Sasha said angrily and loudly before she then fired a few Blaster shots at the walls before she then breathed in and out. "All of those innocent people... their deaths will not be in vain," she said after regaining her composure, Seem being surprised at that.

"You mean... the Palace's fall included casualties?" Seem asked.

"Of course it did. It fell onto the Stadium section, Maintown, and the entirety of the Bazaar sections. All three of those areas were heavily populated and all of those people were killed and are now buried underneath all that rubble... now I know that we have to save Haven City from that madman. The first chance we get, we go back to Haven to take him down," Sasha said with seriousness as we then looked at the Precursor statue and I approached it along with Sasha, the eyes then opening to reveal some glowing blue lights as I then heard a very deep version of the Precursors speaking to us.

"Greetings, great warriors. You have come at a very critical point in time," the Precursor spoke as Seem immediately knelt down to its voice. "The Dark ones have found your world once again and plan to reclaim this world and reshape it in a twisted image... the world is at a critical juncture and only true heroes can hope to stop it," the Precursor said as Daxter then spoke with his usual sass.

"Do you have any idea what he just said? Speak-a-da-normal language, okay?" Daxter said, Sasha smacking him on the back of the head for that.

"You will need all the courage you can muster to survive this terrible test, great ones," the Precursor said.

"I can handle it!" Daxter smiled.

"I was talking to the tall ones, shorty!" the Precursor said, me being a bit surprised at that. The Precursors very rarely spoke to us in the first person.

"HEY!" Dax exclaimed in annoyance as the Precursor then spoke again.

"Look into the light and gain control of your darker sides with the power of light, great heroes," the Precursor said as I then saw a light appear above my head and one above Sasha's and we then did as instructed, me actually feeling something happen to me. I could feel my anger escape me and the Dark Eco felt like it had been controlled and... far away.

When I landed back on my feet, I saw that Sasha had actually gotten her pain mark from Errol healed up and she looked happy as well. "The Dark Eco... it feels far away... it's like that power rejuvenated me!" Sasha smiled.

"I can sense it... you have gained a special ability of Light Eco called Light Regeneration... it's a special trait that can heal you faster and easier than using green eco," Seem said, me smirking at that.

"Sweet! Okay, now for the big question. Seem, who would you rather go back with? Sasha and Kiki or me and Dax in the Dune Hopper?" I asked, Seem smiling and shaking her head no at that.

"I came by Leaper mount, so that's how I'll return," Seem said as we then proceeded into the warp portal and we proceeded back to the city, where Sasha looked over the horizon and looked a bit worried, since she and Kiki were flying a short distance off of the ground.

"What's wrong, mom?" Kiki asked her.

"I think I can see something ominous looming over the distance... it looks like it may be some kind of hurricane... you see those black clouds towards the west?" Sasha asked, me looking in that location and being surprised. She was right. Over to the west and over the ocean, there was a big storm coming our way, which meant the city would most likely be at risk.

"Maybe we should call Damas about this," I said as I then called up Damas.

"Hello? Is this Jak?" he asked.

"Yes, Damas. We've seen something on the way back from the temple. It looks like a large hurricane-like storm is coming to the desert," I said, Damas gasping at that and him immediately doing something in the city on the PA systems that we could hear all the way out in the river area.

"Attention all people of Spargus! A large storm is headed our way! Prepare the city immediately!" Damas exclaimed as he then got on my line again.

"Jak, you and Sasha will need to help out the Wastelanders that have yet to report back. There are four in total. Get back to the garage as fast as possible and grab some two-seated cars. Do whatever it takes to bring them all back!" Damas said with seriousness, me nodding at that.

We then immediately booked it to the garages and we saw that Muse was there and that she had four different radars on her for our group and that Errol had also joined up for this one. "Use these radars to find the Wastelanders caught in the storm. Take them to the storm-proof transport currently deployed in the desert. There are 4 out there and four of you, so be quick about it! That storm'll be here in only 8 minutes, after all!" she said, me nodding at that. We then got one car each with Daxter riding with me and the others getting in their own cars, all of us then zooming out and deciding on our different targets immediately.

"I'll go to the furthest one, since I have the fastest car!" Kiki said, her then zooming ahead in the Dust Demon and Sasha then speaking next.

"I'll get the one by the bridges!" she said with seriousness as she then zoomed off with her Desert Screamer, which was a kickass name for a car!

"I'll handle the one by the rivers!" Errol said as he zoomed to the south in the Heat Seeker.

"I guess that means I've got the one in the cave," I said, me then going to where the girls were headed and going into the cave system to find that there was a female wastelander that was actually a bit on the heavy side, but more in muscle mass than fat.

"Oh, thank god you got here! Get me outta this place and back to the city, quickly!" she said, me nodding at that as she then hopped into the car and we zoomed off into the distance... only for us to get chased by a whole slew of Marauders!

"Ugh, why do these bastards keep trying to get in our way?!" I asked in annoyance.

"They're marauders, that's why! They don't care about their own safety, they only care about killing people that invade their territory! They were here before Spargus became a city and they always try to hurt our city on a daily basis. So, as punishment, we take the injured Marauders from their destroyed vehicles and force them to compete in our arena fights!" the girl said, her actually sounding like she had a high pitched voice despite her masculine frame.

"What's your name, miss? I'm Jak," I said as we made it to the transport and she smirked at me.

"The name's Lora. I'll meet back with you in Spargus, I'm sure!" she said as she then went into the transport and I then got a call from Kiki.

"Kiki, what's up?" I asked her.

"G-Got a problem, here dad! It's one of those Day Star satellites! It's attacking me and the Wastelander I was supposed to save because I found a Dark Eco Crystal in the sand! I need help!" Kiki exclaimed, me nodding as I then spoke.

"Don't worry, we're coming!" I said as I rushed over to Kiki's location and saw that she was actually trying to attack the satellite with her bombs, but they didn't do a thing because it was completely shielded with Dark Eco!

"I have an idea! Taste some of this!" I said as I rushed over and used the Light eco in my bloodstream to produce Light Regeneration. The moment that the light connected with the satellite, it actually caused it to explode in a large blast of Dark Eco, which we simply ignored as we then got all of us together in the two cars and booked it back to the city. We could literally feel the sand start to whip up around us as the winds got much more violent!

"AUGH! My skin feels like it's burning! How much further?!" the passenger asked in pain as I could feel a bit of blistering start to happen to my fists too. We got our answer as we rushed into the garages and connected the fronts of the vehicles directly into the walls and us panting and feeling the burn on our skin. The ones that had no injuries were Kiki and Daxter, since Kiki had more durable skin and Daxter was in my bag.

"Okay... we're safe... finally..." I sighed as I could see that my skin had gotten blistered and I saw a couple of boils that were caused by the storms.

"Damn... those storms pack a punch! How come you don't have any boils, miss?" the Wastelander asked, him being a skinny one and having some boils on his face.

"She's my kid. She's also a Metal Head Scout with amazing combat techniques, but she's my kid," I said with a smile as I then grabbed a health pack for me and the Wastelander and we got healed up enough to the point that we could move again. But we still had the spots on our arms from the storms.

"Thanks a million, guys. I thought I was dead meat. If not for that Dark Eco in that crystal, then it would've been to either that crazy contraption or that horrid storm! I'll put in a good word to Damas for you guys," the guy said, me smirking at that as I then got a call from Sasha.

"Jak! Are you and Kiki okay?" Sasha asked in worry.

"Yeah, we're fine. We just got a bit stung by the storms after defeating another one of those strange satellites from the Day Star. All four Wastelanders are accounted for, no worries," I smiled.

"Well that's a relief... anyways, I wanted to let you know that I got a Light Eco crystal after beating Kliever's score on the turret... and I think it's high time that we go and do our final battles," Sasha smiled.

"Good idea. Let's get going, hon," I smirked as I looked at Dax and Kiki with a cocky grin. "Let's go beat up some more bad guys," I smiled at them.

"I'm down for that!" Dax smiled widely.

"After those Marauders gave us such a hard time before, I'd say they're gonna get what's coming to 'em in that arena," Kiki smirked widely.


	33. Oasis Marauder Ambush

**Chapter 33**

Once we told Damas of the job well-done and requested our final arena fights, we then proceeded into the arena and decided that Errol would go first, then Kiki, then me, then Jak. However, during my excursion, I noticed that there was another fighter in the ring that I instantly recognized as being the one that I had just rescued from the storm... and he was actively both shooting at me and the different people in the arena, me being shocked as I shot the others and left him and me as the last two remaining.

"Why are you attacking me?! I rescued you, remember?" I asked him with worry as he continued to shoot at me and I had to dodge the reticle or else I'd be killed.

"It's the rule of the arena, miss. Kill or you get killed. I'm sorry, but if we don't kill one or the other, then Damas will kill both of us," the guy said, me frowning at that and sighing as I knew I wouldn't have a choice.

"I'll make it quick and painless, then... sorry..." I said with a heavy heart as I aimed my Vulcan Fury at the guy's forehead while he reloaded and shot one single round right through it, the guy falling to the ground soon after and me feeling like absolute trash. I had just killed someone that I rescued not even a half hour ago. I begrudgingly went to get my final amulet piece and gun upgrade in the form of an upgrade to the Vulcan Fury and simply walked away as Damas was speaking.

"When fully formed it acts as a beacon. If ever you-" Damas kept speaking as he saw I was leaving, him being surprised at that and the Muse actually chasing after me as I went to the wings.

"Hey, what's got you all moody all of a sudden? You should be happy, you're now a Spargus citizen!" Marigold said to me with a smile as I simply sighed and looked at the ground, not even turning around to look at her.

"What good is rescuing someone's life from a tragedy... if you're forced to kill them soon after?" I asked with a sigh as I then continued forward, Marigold following me and being confused as she spoke again.

"What do you mean? Are you talking about that last opponent you killed? Who was he?" she asked.

"I saved him from that large storm not even a half hour ago... and he said that if I didn't kill him, that Damas would've killed both of us... I hate this place now. Officially," I said as I simply took the three amulet pieces in my hand and simply gave them to Marigold with a sigh. "I don't want to be a citizen of a place that has you killing friends and family for citizenship. And I suggest you tell Damas that I'm simply not cut out to be a Wastelander," I said, Marigold gasping and rushing after me, turning into her genie form and trying to hand me the amulet pieces again and me simply holding my hands in fists.

"You really must think this through, Sasha! If you aren't a Wastelander, then Damas will just toss you out into the desert for the Marauders to devour! And if not them, the storms will make short work of you!" Marigold said with worry to me.

"Hmph," I scoffed, knowing that she was right but not liking it regardless. I simply grabbed the beacon from her hand and looked at her with seriousness. "If Jak and Daxter go through the same thing I did, I can guarantee that they're not going to kill their opponent. Jak and Daxter are much less willing to fight friends, even if forced to," I said... and what happened soon after? I saw Damas exiting the arena with not only Jak and Daxter, but SIG AS WELL!

"Sig?! So this is where you've been since leaving Haven all those months ago!" I said to him with a smile... but he simply ignored me and kept moving and Damas looked ticked. It was only then that I realized what was happening. "See what I mean, Marigold? Sig was one of our closest battle partners in Haven during the Metal Head wars. And now, he and Jak refused to fight each other," I said, Marigold looking at them in worry and looking at me.

"So what do you want me to do about it?" Marigold asked.

"Go convince Damas to spare them in some way," I said, Marigold frowning and sighing soon after.

"Fine... I'll go try to talk to him," Marigold said as she then chased after them very quickly, her managing to get onto the elevator soon after and me simply waiting for the elevator to go back down... and after it did, Jak, Sig, and Dax exited and looked at me with a smile.

"So... how did it go?" I asked, them looking at me and giving small smiles.

"After the queen spoke to Damas, he decided to offer us mercy, provided that we go to the Metalpede nest in the base of the giant volcano and destroy all the Metal Head eggs," Jak said, me smiling at him and sighing.

"You're welcome... I convinced the queen to talk to Damas about you guys having mercy... mostly because I was super angry and upset that I had to kill the very person I rescued during that storm," I said with a frown.

"Really? You're tough, cherry. If it'd be you and me fighting, I sure hope you'd have did the same thing Jak did," Sig said, me smiling at him.

"Gonna be honest, Sig, I'd spare your life any day of the week. I still remember our first Wastelander time at the Pumping Station and how good of a team we were," I smiled at him, Sig nodding as he then went to the garage with Jak and I then got a call on my communicator soon after.

"Hello?" I asked, only to hear a familiar voice on the other end.

"Momma Sasha? This is Ashelin... I'm glad you guys are still alive," Ashelin said, me gasping at that.

"Ashelin! Where are you?" I asked in shock.

"I'm out at the western Oasis. Please come find me. I don't have much time to spend here away from the city," Ashelin said, me nodding at that.

"Got it. I'm going to get Kiki and Errol to join in, since Jak and Dax are busy right now," I said, me then hanging up and calling up the other two to meet up at the garage effective immediately. And once we were all assembled, Kiki flew out in the air and me and Errol grabbed the Dune Hopper to go out, since it had a very good jumping power and that combined with the turbo boost made it the best car for covering long distances!

"Okay, so where did Ashelin say she was at again?" Errol asked as I zoomed us over the large bridge and over to one of the dunes to the southwest.

"The oasis on this side of the desert. Trust me," I said, our group finding Ashelin along with a Hellcat right next to the oasis and us then departing from the vehicle to meet with her.

"Ashelin, what are you doing here?" I asked, her looking at me with a frown.

"I came here to get you guys back to the city... we're losing the fight. Vegar's so drunk with power that he's taken command, even with me trying to prevent him from doing so," Ashelin said with a frown.

"And guess what else? We heard from one of Vegar's monk comrades that he was the one who destroyed the palace in the first place! We overheard them talking in that temple to the south," I said, Ashelin gasping at that and her frown emerging soon after.

"That... That lying asshole! The next I see him, he's done!" Ashelin exclaimed angrily... but that wasn't the best idea. Why? A whole slew of Marauders appeared and looked ready to kill all of us!

"Head's up, guys! We're in for a fight!" I said, me then immediately bringing out my new Vulcan Fury weapon and proceeding to spray it all over the different vehicles the Marauders used. And it was then that I saw that the bullets were actually converted into blue eco electricity that caused the cars to short-circuit and explode after a few seconds of the stream on each of them!

"Hah! Take that!" I exclaimed as Errol and Kiki helped out in killing the other Marauders with their weapons, since Ashelin had a red eco pistol and nothing else. After eliminating 60 different Marauders, the slaughter finally ended and we were given a moment of reprieve.

"Here, Keira wanted me to give these to you guys," Ashelin said as she gave me three different Jet Boards. One was mine, the other was Jak's, and the final one, which was colored red, was Errol's. "Guys, the city needs you... all of us do," Ashelin said, Errol looking ticked as usual.

"The city threw all of us out, remember? They can rot for all I care!" Errol said angrily before Ashelin spoke again.

"The city didn't throw you out, guys," Ashelin said, me gasping at that. "Vegar was so insistant to get you out of the city, he fiddled with the votes. It was actually 20 to 80 to get you banished. As in, 80 percent of the city wanted you to stay," Ashelin said, my smile reforming soon after.

"You hear that, Errol? Yet another reason to fucking hate Cunt Asshole!" I smiled, Errol finally managing to crack a smirk, even if it were for a small moment.

"Unfortunately, I can't get you back there with my Hellcat, since it has limited fuel and can only hold myself for the round trip. If you can find some alternative mode of transport, then use it... from what I overheard from the Freedom Fighters, there should be a path to Haven City hidden somewhere in that temple you talked about earlier. You'll need this to get there, they said," Ashelin said as she handed me Jak's amulet, the one he got from his kid version.

"Got it. You stay safe, Ashelin. And if you see Vegar before us, give him a swift kick in the nards, got it?" Kiki smiled.

"I'll happily oblige," Ashelin smiled as she then started her Hellcat and went into the distance.

"Okay, now we just have to contact Jak and Dax to join us and we're all set," I smiled. Errol was the one to do so and I decided to listen to the dynamic duo with my three-way communicator.

"Errol? What is it?" Jak asked.

"We got a message from Ashelin as well as some presents. Apparently the city didn't throw us out at all and they need us back. The votes were fiddled by Veger and he made them flipped. The city was actually 20 percent in favor of us getting banished, 80 percent to stay, the complete opposite of what Veger said!" Errol said angrily, me smirking at that.

"So what do we do, then?" Jak asked.

"She said we'd need to find an alternate route to the city from that Monk Temple to the south. Kiki will meet up with you and fly you over there, since we currently have the Dune Hopper with us. We also have our finished Jet Boards and we got your amulet back," Errol said.

"Got it," Jak smiled as Kiki then took to the skies and flew towards the city in the distance.

"Now time to get going to the temple. Let's have some fun with this jump feature on the way," I smiled at Errol while we got in the Dune Hopper.

"I swear, if you make this thing flip upside-down during the trip, you're getting punched in the stomach," Errol smiled.

"Okay, so long as you don't mind losing another tooth," I smirked, Errol immediately shutting up at that. I'd already made him lose three different teeth during our scuffles in the past and he hated his smile lately. It was just a reminder that you shouldn't mess with Sasha Nell.


	34. Return to the Monk Temple

**Chapter 34**

After learning that bit of shocking news from Sasha and Errol, it made me very mad, yet also relieved at the same time. I was very angry at Veger for banishing us just for his own sick gain, even to the point of basically reversing the votes so that it was the opposite of what the people actually wanted... but I was also relieved that the city didn't hate us, at least as a majority. Once Kiki got to us at the garage, she then flew us towards the temple, even though Daxter wasn't a fan of it. He actually insisted to hide in between me and Kiki, basically getting sandwiched so that he wouldn't be able to fall down.

Once we finally touched down, Daxter then hopped on my shoulder and looked a bit annoyed.

"Well, looks like someone didn't like going for a flying session," Sasha smiled at him.

"Yeah, I don't like flying without protection," Daxter said with a frown.

"Well, if you need some kind of protection from falling, you could always hide in my mouth or stomach," Kiki smiled, Daxter growling at her angrily. "Haha, just kidding, Dax. We're friends," Kiki smiled as she simply petted him and Daxter frowned.

"Fine," he said as we then looked ahead and proceeded forward into the temple. And when we got to the staircase that went down, we saw that some new faces had decided to call this place home.

"Ack! Metal Jackets!" Sasha exclaimed as she then shot them with her Beam Reflexor, which actually proved to be very effective. The beams attacked each of the Metal Jackets that appeared three times each before they then all died after getting hit three times each. And the best part was that the bullets didn't hurt our group at all... for some odd reason.

"Why don't those bullets hurt us at all?" Errol asked.

"Well, apparently this gun won't harm anyone else with a Beam Reflexor on their person. I learned that during my last arena fight," Sasha said before then getting a glum look on her face.

"You're still beat up about that, huh?" I asked, her nodding at that.

"You and Sig were braver than I was, Jak. I didn't want to die from Damas's hands... but I don't think that Wastelander should've had that be his final moments of life, especially after I rescued him less than half an hour earlier," Sasha said with a pout.

"I see... well think about it this way, Sasha. It was just one bad thing you did and it only cost one life. Veger, on the other hand? He's done numerous horrible things and the big one he did killed every single person in the Stadium, Maintown, and the Bazaars. If you ask me, you should be focusing on getting back to Haven to kick him in the nards before Ashelin does," Kiki smiled at her, which I found a bit surprising. That Sasha, the youngest of our group in terms of actual birthdays, was the one who was being the wise voice of reason.

"Yeah, you're right, Kiki... thanks," Sasha smiled as we then got to a door that looked to have the Seal of Mar on it. I then proceeded to show the door my amulet and it immediately opened up.

"Now we're getting somewhere! Let's go see what awaits us," I smirked as we then went forward into the temple until we came across some more Metal Jackets. But once again, some Beam Reflexor rounds made them all fall down and die. We then came across a room that had some very odd looking orbs flying around that were a mixture of Light and Dark eco... and after I touched one, it actually flew over to the door on the other side of the room and slammed into the top into another Mar symbol.

"Idea, guys. We should touch every single one of these floating bits of energy so that the door will open up ahead," I smirked.

"Time to bust out the Jet Boards, then!" Errol said with his usual frown, even if he did sound a bit excited. After all, he hadn't ever used a Jet Board before, at least to my knowledge. We then proceeded to board around the place and even go through some tunnels in order to get all of the little spheres of Eco until the door opened up. And after going through it, we actually emerged into the room with the giant Precursor statue, but on a different side of it.

"We meet again, great heroes, but sadly your coming may be too late. Our enemy is approaching us at a quickening rate from the cosmos and we fear we may not have the power to prevent their plans of Armageddon. Behold, the pure power of light!" the Precursor said as I then felt the light appear above my head and I looked up and felt the light pour into me. And I could feel that there was some kind of gate that opened inside of me... I could feel some kind of super-powered version of the quickness of Blue Eco enter my body. "We offer you some power in these grave moments."

I then looked at the others and saw that Errol happened to get the strength as well, which surprised me. "Okay... I think I know what to do," I said as I breathed in and sighed, me then clapping my hands together and me seeing that the nearby spinning platforms had slowed down to a complete crawl to the point that they barely moved. I made sure to hold Daxter tight and hop across the platforms. And soon after, I got on the other side and I saw that the others were shocked.

"Whoa! How'd you get over there?!" Sasha exclaimed in shock and Daxter looking surprised.

"I slowed down time with that Light Eco power," I said, them smirking at that and me seeing that they actually joined me soon after in the blink of an eye... leaving Kiki all alone on the other side.

"Hey! Wait for me, would ya, guys?" Kiki giggled as she flew over to our location and we then moved forward again through the corridor and we saw we had to use the Jet Boards again. And after grinding above the place we got the door open with the floating spheres, we then got to an area filled with spinning blades and some very deep drops that would lead to the area with the numerous floating eyes we encountered during our first trip.

"How about we do this one differently? I'll fly everyone below those spinning wheels of death and to the other side, okay?" Kiki smiled.

"Sure, that sounds like a much safer option," Errol admitted as Kiki then proceeded to fly us each towards the door on the other side. She started with me and Dax, then Errol, then Sasha, the trip being a bit dodgy at the last bit, since there was a spinning blade very close to the edge of the door. But after exiting, we saw yet another challenge, one that looked pretty dangerous. There was a very flimsy bridge filled with tons of cracks and it looked like it was barely able to be supported.

"I bet one touch would be enough to make this thing fall down. Time to use that time stopping power again. And for Kiki, she can just fly over," Sasha said.

"Agreed," Kiki smirked as all three of us pretty much used the power at the same time, all of us rushing over the bridge as it slowly collapsed from underneath us. And even with the time being slowed down drastically, we barely made it to the other side before the whole bridge had fallen into the pit below us. "I'm coming over there, guys," Kiki said as the power dwindled out and she then joined us with her wings flapping over the pit. And in front of us was a door that led to an elevator. We proceeded down it and then entered a room that looked very similar to the catacombs we'd seen after the Palace was destroyed.

"Huh... these must've been made by the Precursors a long time ago... most likely to connect these two areas and this temple together," I gawked. And then someone appeared from ahead of us from a large tube filled with electronics.

"Whew! I finally found you!" said the voice of Pecker as he flew towards us and landed on an inactive car that looked like it'd be fun to ride in.

"What are you doing here so far away from Onin's head, Pecker?" Kiki asked, the monkaw smirking at her.

"Onin requested I come to find you. She says that we must get back to Haven City and find a way into the catacombs. She says they hold the key to the planet's very survival," Pecker said, me then using my amulet and seeing that it activated the car.

"Anyone up for a little ride?" I asked.

"Whoo! I call shotgun!" Sasha smirked widely. Errol and I then got in happily and Daxter looked at us like we were crazy.

"I'd rather fly than risk my life in this contraption, thank you very much," Daxter said, Kiki smirking and picking him up by the head and placing him under her arms and against her tummy.

"Ignore me if my stomach growls, Dax. I'm getting a little bit hungry," Kiki smirked, that only making Daxter get more fidgety.

"I'll get you some Red Eco from my gun after we get to the other end of this tube, Kiki," I said as we Sasha then punched the ignition while Pecker was in the car and we zoomed off into the tube. The ride through was very fun and also kind of treacherous, since there were numerous sections where the road didn't exist and there were some debris in our way in the form of steel girders and yellow poles. But after going through the entirety of it, we emerged into a room with a dead-end right in front of us... and Sasha looked like she was going to ram it before then doing something epic. She hopped from the machine and stopped it from colliding into the wall with just her sheer muscle power in Dark Form!

"Whoa... That was impressive, Sasha!" Errol gawked, which was something rare for him to do.

"Now you see why I can beat up anyone I see? That Dark Warrior Program may have been hell to go through, but the perks of becoming a walking war machine with skin make it slightly worth it," Sasha said, me smirking at that. She did have a point, even though it was one I didn't agree with. Nothing was worth going through that torture. I did keep my promise to Kiki, however, and used my Dark form to poke a hole in a Scatter Gun ammunition pack and she immediately slurped it up happily.

"Thanks, dad," Kiki smiled as, out of the car, appeared a Precursor!

"You are doing well, great warriors, though the Dark Ones will not be an easy opponent for anyone to take on in the fray of battle... please, accept another power of Light. It was what little left we have to offer in these dire straits," the Precursor said as I saw the light above my head again and I looked into it along with Sasha and Errol and I then found I could create a shield around me with the Light Eco!

"So... is no one going to mention how Errol can get these powers of Light Eco as well? Or do I have to ask it?" Sasha said, Errol smirking for a change.

"You weren't the only one who had a Light Eco injection when you were a child, Sasha. I had one as well," Errol said, me smirking at that.

"Well, I wouldn't have ever guessed," I admitted.

"Me neither," Daxter smirked as Pecker then jumped from the car and we then proceeded to another elevator. We were one step closer to entering Haven City and helping out our friends against the KG robots, the Metal Head hordes, and Count Veger himself.


	35. Haven City: Dump, Warzone, Home

**Chapter 35**

Once we got off of the elevator, we arrived in an area that was a bit dark and looked a lot like a canyon of sorts, one filled with tons of holes in the walls and some tracks all over the place.

"Huh... these must be the old Eco mines that Mar built along with Haven City back in the day. He made them to get at the Eco during the city's first few decades," I gawked at them.

"Eesh! That Mar guy must've never slept much!" Daxter retorted soon after.

"I'm going ahead to tell Onin we're back. Watch your tail feathers, guys. This is a spooky place," Pecker said as he flew into the distance and I looked around a bit until I saw something pretty interesting.

"Ooh! Look what I found, guys!" I smirked as I found some leg armor, the group looking at me with a smile.

"That stuff looks like the armor we found in the Wasteland... so who gets it?" Jak asked.

"Well, that depends. Would you like to finally go all the way with me when this journey's all done, Jak?" I smirked at him, Jak blushing at that and me smirking.

"I... I... sure!" Jak smirked.

"Then we'll share it. You get one, I get the other," I smiled as I gave him the right one and I took the left one.

"Thanks," Jak smiled as he put his on.

"You do realize you agreed to have sex with mom when we're done with this adventure, right, dad?" Kiki smirked, Jak smiling and nodding, which made me blush.

"Hehe, I'll give you one thing, Sasha. You sure like to tell it straight," Errol said with a small smirk.

"That's what I like most about myself," I smirked as we then moved forward a bit and we saw that there was a way into the city from the outside walls. The only issue was that there was a giant gate that was locked up tight and made of some very tough metal.

"You think you can blow up this gate with your bombs, Kiki?" I asked her, Kiki smirking and rushing towards the door and placing at least 20 different bombs in the entrance to it. I then fired a Blaster shot at it and the bombs made a giant explosion! You could actually feel a slight shock wave from the blast because of its power! And it actually made the gate crumble and shrivel to bits, leaving a giant gaping hole for us to go through!

"Nice job, Kiki! Time to move out," I smirked as we then proceeded into the large hole and we then dropped down into a small cave area. And after crossing over a rickety bridge, it then fell beneath our feet and we saw the door on the other side begin to open up. And guess who came through on the other end? The person that deserved a ball kick.

"The monks told me you were going through the Precursor Subrails. Interesting, aren't they?" Veger asked, me frowning as I then simply got my gun on me and cocked it.

"Yeah, whatever. And as for you, I believe you deserve a kick to the balls for... oh, I don't know, KILLING ALL OF THOSE INNOCENT PEOPLE BY DESTROYING THE PALACE!" I exclaimed angrily at him, Veger growling at me.

"How'd you find that out, bitch?" he asked, me taking some steps forward angrily.

"From Seem, the monk we overheard you speaking with in the temple in the Wasteland. Now why don't you come over to our side of the door so I can kick you in the nuts so hard, they enter your throat?" I asked angrily.

"You really are full of horrid ideas, Veger," Jak said angrily.

"AND YOU'RE FULL OF DARK ECO! You, your rat, and your Metal Head are all abominations! I will be the one to go to the Catacombs and gain the power to be the light of this world, that shall spread across the galaxy and destroy all shadows!" Veger exclaimed, me frowning at that as I saw that Kiki looked furious.

"In order to do that, Count Vagina, you'd need to be able to have a fucking morality to you. All those innocent lives you took? Fiddling with the votes to banish the most powerful people in Haven City to the Wastelands? Basically overtaking the city with your mad ideas just to become powerful? That's the work of a villain, not a hero!" Kiki exclaimed angrily, which I smirked at her for telling him off.

"ENOUGH! We shall start the reshaping of the world with your demise!" Veger exclaimed as his staff started to glow a bright red... and it was only then that I gawked. His staff had Precursor technology in the jewel! "Behold! I now command the very power of the ancient ones!" Veger smirked widely as he actually made the statue above us come to life in the form of a Precursor Robot! I growled at this and looked at Kiki.

"Alright, Kiki. Time to blow this guy's robotic brains out!" I said angrily, her smirking and then throwing numerous bombs at the robot's face that then stuck to it and me then aiming my Peacemaker at the giant robot as Veger escaped through the door. One fully-charged shot later and the robot's entire upper half exploded in fantastic fashion, resulting in the machine dropping something surprising. It was a gun upgrade!

"I wonder what this gun upgrade is for? It doesn't look like it's for any of the main four types," I frowned as I noted it was actually Light Eco inside of it! "Hmm... I have an idea! Maybe we can try to hook this up to your gun, Dax!" I smirked, him smiling as he gave me his gun and I then hooked it up to the front of the gun and saw that I actually got it on snug, it fitting well into the cylindrical barrel so that it looked more like a regular gun barrel. Daxter then decided to shoot a blast of it at the nearby wall... and we were shocked at what happened soon after. A combined attack of Green and Light Eco blew a giant hole in the wall that was as big as the Precursor Robot!

"Sweet! That's a very deadly weapon for our little Ottsel friend! Now let's go up top and see what trouble we can get into," Kiki smiled, all of us smiling at that and going through the door and finding ourselves entering the northern part of Haven City. And when we did so, we saw that we were in the northernmost part of Haven City that hadn't been completely demolished from the Palace falling. And we saw it was still pretty wrecked with fire, debris, and Metal Scorpions infesting the streets.

"This place looks worse than my old bedroom back in the past," Daxter gawked as we then moved towards New Haven... only to see that Samos, Keira, Sammie, and Minnie were all on the other side of one of the most durable forcefields created by Baron Praxis.

"Guys! We're so relieved to see you!" Jak said, Keira smiling at us as did Samos and the twins.

"See, girls? I told you I could sense their energies!" Samos said with a smile.

"We came back the moment Ashelin told us that the city needed our help... and after she revealed that Veger basically flipped the votes backwards to cast us out!" Errol said with anger, Keira growling at that.

"Veger actually did that?! How stupid can one guy possibly be?! Ever since he got you out of the city, the KG robots and Metal Heads have pinned us down all over the city and we've barely got any safe places to stay at! He turned Force Fields on all over the city, which doesn't do jack shit for the flying robots and Metal Heads," Keira said with an upset frown.

"You know what else Veger did? He's the one who destroyed the Palace! And he only did so just to get access to the Catacombs for some kind of power!" I said angrily.

"Well then you're going to have to find a way to get there before he does!" Sammie said with a frown.

"But before that, you'll need to get past these forcefields all over the city. Even if you tried to fly over them with Kiki, it'd just shock you from trying to go over them. That asshole Veger thought hard about how to make these forcefields as horrible as possible. It shocks living things no problem, but that doesn't count for the fucking robots!" Minnie growled angrily.

"Couldn't we just get to the rooftops and go over past the forcefields?" Daxter asked.

"Not even that is possible. So long as every single forcefield is still enforced, you can't fly over even a single piece of housing or wall without getting your insides shocked and served crispy... the only way I can think of is to start off in the Port area by going through the sewers from here. And once there, you'll need to meet up with Torn and break apart the barriers one by one until you can get here," Keira explained.

"Understood. And don't worry. The next time we see Veger, we're going to give him the nut punch of the century for killing all those innocent people by destroying the palace," I said, them nodding at that.

"If anyone could do it, I'm sure you guys can. Take the sewer entrance nearby and go due south through them," Samos said, me nodding at that.

"Understood. Stay safe, stay green, and stay hopeful, okay, guys? We'll get through those defenses no problem," I said, them nodding at that.


	36. Meeting Maia

**Chapter 36**

Upon reaching the sewers of New Haven, we emerged to find that the place we had to go through was filled with Metal Heads! Upon first entering, the Jetpack Metal Heads were the first to greet us, but they stood no chance against our powerful weapons. Though we did agree that Daxter's new gun would only be used for the big and beefy enemies, which he was all for, especially since the weapon still hadn't recharged to full yet. In fact, it was only halfway charged.

"I guess that weapon upgrade came with a compromise. It fires a giant blast of destruction, but at the cost of taking much longer to recharge," I said to Dax, him nodding at that.

"Eh, so long as it can destroy big targets in one blast, I'm fine with it," Daxter smirked as we then had to resort to Jet Boarding through the next few areas, since the floor was warped... that and it was also full of disgusting water filled with poop, piss, blood, and other items sent through the pipes from the citizens.

"Ugh, could people please stop flushing their city passes down the drain? I know we got rid of them after Ashelin took charge, but it's going to end up clogging the sewage systems at this point!" Sasha groaned in disgust as we made it to an area that had some more Metal Heads and some spike frogs, which we had to defeat in order to move on. And after moving through the sewers some more, through more clean water and over some pipes that we grinded on, we came across something very annoying. Fans that blew on us so hard, that we couldn't move forward!

"I'll take these things out," Errol frowned as he armed his gun and shot the Arc Wielder at them, which fried them and then destroyed them instantly. I would've expected us to be shocked horribly, since we were in water, but it didn't hurt us at all.

"I guess the electricity really is just a stream of Blue Eco. Cool!" Sasha smirked widely as we then did the same thing through the rest of the sewers until we got to the exit, which we then proceeded up and saw we had arrived in the port. It looked like it was pretty peaceful, but I knew this place in particular was in a bad area. The Metal Head sector of the city was directly to the west and the Industrial sector, filled with KG robots, was directly east.

"So where would we be able to find out how to link up with HQ from here?" Errol asked with a frown.

"Well, how about we scope out the Naughty Ottsel first? After all, we have a bunch of supplies there, all left behind by Krew," Kiki suggested.

"Hey, that's a great idea! Krew had weapons up the wazoo, so he's bound to have left some upgrades for our guns! Let's go check it out!" I said with a smile as we then used our Jet Boards to head over to the Naughty Ottsel while Kiki flew over there and we then went inside with smiles on our faces, but no one smiled as much as Daxter.

"Ah, the Naughty Ottsel... Honey, I'm home!" Daxter smiled widely as we then saw someone from the center table... which had been converted into a communicator/radar!

"Jak? Errol and Sasha? I didn't expect to see you back so soon," said the gravelly voice of Torn, though he did still give a glare towards Errol.

"Torn?! What are you doing to my place?!" Daxter asked angrily as I noticed that Metal Kor's head was still hung up for all the see.

"We needed a southern HQ for the war. Plus, I kinda like the Ottsel statue on the sign," Torn smiled.

"Thanks, looks good, huh?" Daxter smiled.

"We use it for target practice," Torn said soon after, which made Kiki and Sasha burst out laughing while Daxter yelled, "HEY!"

"Listen, I'm sorry we couldn't stop Count Veger. We all are," Torn said with a frown.

"We met Veger outside of Haven City in the old mines. He's trying to use Precursor Technology for something involving the Catacombs," I said.

"Heh, why am I not surprised? That guy was always one monk short of a choir," Torn said.

"You know, I never asked before, but why is Veger commuting with the Precursor Monks in the Wasteland? Does he know about Spargus? If so, he might try to hurt them with this new power, where he said, and I quote, 'I will be the light that destroys all shadows'. He's sure to kill innocents, just like he did when he destroyed the Palace and nearly half the city," Sasha frowned angrily.

"I dunno, but we got bigger fish to fry right now. Veger sent me and my men on a suicide attack into the Port and we got cut off. Then, shortly after, he activated the roadblock forcefields. We're going to need to break through those barriers and also push back the threats of the KG robots and the Metal Heads, which are squeezing us from both sides," Torn said, me frowning at the fact that Veger sent him here and just left him to die, much like with us.

"Never fear, the family o' trouble is here!" Daxter smiled widely. And then the radar picked up something nasty and turned red.

"Uh-oh, speaking of trouble, we've got incoming Blast Bots from the KG sector. They're headed right for the hideout! Can you guys handle it?" Torn asked, me smirking at that.

"Come on, guys, let's go fry those robots with our new Arc Wielders," Sasha said widely as she then cocked her gun and led the charge outside, me looking into the radar and seeing that there was one towards the KG sector and two on the bridges out in the water. I proceeded to get in a Zoomer and head right for the one to the KG sector, Errol and Kiki went for the one on the western side of the bridge, and Sasha went to the one on the east side of the bridge. Once I got there with Dax, I then proceeded to pepper the large robot with a steady stream of constant Blue Eco electricity, the robot taking a bit longer to take out than the other ones we'd been dealing with, but it soon smoked and short-circuited after about 25 individual ammo bits were used, the robot then making a large explosion that created a small crater on the ground. I then got a message from Errol soon after.

"Kiki and I got this one. How about you two?" Errol asked. And then Sasha got on the line.

"Got mine, and so did Jak. Let's meet back up at the Naughty Ottsel to see what Torn has for us next," Sasha said, me nodding at that. We then went back and we saw Torn was trying to make a call.

"Ashelin! Ashelin, you there? This is Torn. Jak, Sasha, and Errol are back in the city!" Torn said, Ashelin's hologram appearing from the machine soon after.

"Really? They're back? Oh, thank god you're back!" Ashelin said, me smiling at that as Torn then started to speak.

"That new KG leader must be pissin' in his-" he was about to finish before I saw the signal start to get jammed. And I saw a new hologram... of someone I gasped at. It was just as she looked in the past, only with her right side of her face being completely mechanical!

"MAIA!" I exclaimed in shock, her laughing soon after.

"Yes, I am alive! AHAHAHAHA! So, we meet again, Jak. And I see you have your little fuzzy friend with you!" Maia laughed, me gawking at her. I knew it was her on the communicator in the Wasteland!

"Wait... Maia?! As in, one of the two Dark Eco Sages from Jak's time? The same Maia that Jak sunk into a silo filled with Dark Eco?! How in the fucking hell are you still alive?! It's been over 2 thousand years!" Sasha asked in absolute bafflement. I couldn't blame her, since that was one of the talking points we had often when we were in jail all that time ago.

"Haha, yes, it has been too long. I was able to survive the process of being in that Dark Eco. In fact, since I wasn't a full sage, I was able to gain an unaging body at the cost of it deteriorating with every passing century. Only my head remained after I was released from that Silo and I was kept as a small display piece in that Weapons Factory that you so rudely blew up! But thanks to the KG robots that were there, I was able to have a brand new body built for me," Maia said, me looking at her in shock.

"A brand new body?" I asked in curiosity.

"Haha, even the Metal Heads have their biological weaknesses. But as for me? I'm almost 99 percent metal. And I'm going to be so interested in seeing you squirm. I've got big plans for the future of this world, starting when that light in the sky comes ever so closer... tata," Maia said as she then cut the connection and I looked a bit shocked as did Daxter.

"You know her from your time, Jak?" Errol asked me.

"She planned to flood the entire world in my time with Dark Eco, which wouldn't have been good at all, since my timeline had much more greenery as opposed to this future world," I said with a frown.

"If we can break through those barricades through the KG zones, we can link up with HQ in order to get more firepower. We're going to need to destroy the weakest of the barriers first, the one to the east of the Port. I have an idea and Kiki will be the perfect candidate for it," Torn said, Kiki smiling at that.

"What do I have to do?" Kiki asked.

"Go out to the nearby missile launcher outside the saloon, grab onto it and activate it. It'll be a wild ride, since the missile's got the same amount of speed as a rocket. You'll need to hold onto it and force it to collide into the forcefield after adding at least 10 of your bombs to the tip of it, and make sure to clear out before sending the missile at the forcefield, or you'll be the next one mounted on the walls. And we wouldn't want that," Torn said, Kiki smirking and simply sticking her tongue out at that last part.

"Just a quick tip, Torn, but if you ever make a tasteless joke like that again, I'm going to rip those tattoos off of your face with my bare hands! Okay? Heehee," Kiki giggled, Torn smirking at how playful her attitude was, almost like it were a joke.

"Trust me Torn, you don't want to mess with Kiki. She was able to destroy a heavy-duty reinforced gate in the old Eco mines with just a couple bombs, so I'd hate to see what would happen if she wanted to show her brute strength on that face," Sasha smiled as she and our group went outside to watch Kiki work her magic.


	37. Attacking the Baddies

**Chapter 37**

Kiki managed to effortlessly destroy the first forcefield blocking our path with her bombs combined with the missile's destructive force. And it was then that I decided it'd be a good idea for our group to go to the gun course, since Torn suggested we do that to get a gun upgrade or two. And upon entering, we saw Daxter's girlfriend right there and she looked at Daxter with giddiness.

"Daxter! You're back!" Tess smiled happily and widely as she then picked him up and hugged him to her breasts, which I smiled. "Did that mean old desert hurt your itty bitty paws?" Tess asked cutely as Daxter smiled.

"Easy, Tess," Daxter smiled as Tess then let him down and she smiled at him. "So how's biz?"

"I've been designing new gun mods to help out the war effort," Tess smiled.

"You make guns now?" Jak asked.

"Yep! And I just finished this new gun," Tess smiled as she then started to speak in words that I couldn't understand at all to describe the potency of the gun. I didn't catch a word of it because of the multiple long words, but I did see that it was a mod for the Blaster.

"Um... could you say that in dumb speak? I didn't understand a word of what you just said," I said with a frown.

"Same here," Errol and Kiki said.

"Fine, I'll explain in more regular talk. Simply fire the gun and it'll release a small floating disc that proceeds to shoot everything around its radius with up to 50 Blaster shots fired in quick succession. And once it's emptied, it'll fall to the ground and explode, causing some splash damage to any poor baddies in the blast zone," Tess smiled. "Heehee! It's a hobby!"

I then went to get the gun and smiled at how she gave me, Kiki, and Errol one, but she held it back from Jak. "Not so fast, Jak. First, before I give you this gun, you need to prove you can protect my little schnookums in the new gun course," Tess said, Daxter simply smiling and giving a little air kiss to her, which I smiled at.

"Going to be honest, Dax, I think Tess may be the one," I whispered to the little Ottsel's ears, him smirking at that as I then got a call from Torn.

"Sasha, I need you and the others to report back so we can deal a heavy blow in the KG sector of the city," Torn said, me nodding at that and leading myself, Kiki, and Errol towards the Naughty Ottsel, where Torn was standing at the radar and he then looked confused at the absence of Jak.

"Jak's doing the gun course so he can get a new gun from Tess," I said, him nodding at that.

"Okay, here's the deal," Torn said as he showed some very nasty looking guns in the KG sector. "There are automated laser cannons armed in the KG sector of the city, all of them being on the elevated walkway. I'm going to need you to go there and take them out. There's sure to be heavy defenses when they realize what you're doing, so be cautious. You get the idea," Torn said, Errol nodding at that.

"Yeah, I got the gist," Errol frowned as we then went out and got a three-seater Zoomer and proceeded towards the Industrial sector of the city, where we came across the elevated walkways. One towards the Power Station (which was locked up tight from the KG forces) and one by where we arrived.

"Okay, I'll get the ones from the Power Station forward and you and Kiki get these ones," Errol said, me nodding at that and finding it a bit surprising how Errol was actually the one barking orders for a change. But I didn't say anything, since I knew he'd just get pissed. I then proceeded to push a couple different switches on the walkway as the laser cannon tried to lock onto me... but it was over the moment Kiki smashed the power supply. Once she took it out with a bomb, the cannon fell down and exploded, which was awesome! Kiki and I did this process to the next one and then joined with Errol to finish off the last one, all the cannons being eliminated and there being little to no issues from the KG robots, since we had our Arc Wielders take them out from a distance.

"Now time to go back to Torn's place, I'd say," Kiki said with a smile.

"Agreed. By the way, isn't it getting dark?" I asked as I looked above us and saw that it was actually cloudy out and that the sun was setting behind the clouds in the distance.

"It is, but we can pull off a few more jobs before bed, right?" Kiki smiled.

"Easy for you to say. You almost never sleep for anything," Errol frowned. And that was true. Kiki, being a Metal Head, never required sleep and even then, if she did lie down, she only needed about a half hour at the most before being ready for action again. We then arrived at the Naughty Ottsel to see that Torn was looking at the maps for the Metal Head sector of Haven City.

"I think it's time that we dealt a blow to the Metal Heads' ranks. From what I've been able to discover, there's a weak point in the walls that used to lead to that location. Apparently Veger wasn't doing too good of a job at patchwork. Use Kiki's bombs to blow a hole into the wall, then we'll need you to divert into two separate teams. Jak and Kiki will go and demolish every single one of the Metal Heads' secret weapons, which have been used to make Dark Eco mortars happen to our troops every night. And as for Errol and Sasha, Samos wants you two to go through the door to South Haven Forest and heal up the plants that have been infected by these mortars. Once accomplished, Samos said there are very old ruins there that are possibly linked to the Catacombs. He'll tell you more when you get the job done," Torn said, me smirking at that job description.

"Okay, I'll take Daxter for this excursion, since he's not going to be safe from the Dark Eco, got it, Jak?" I said, him nodding and Dax smirking at that.

"Thanks, Sasha. I may have protection now, but I'll take cleaning up infected flowers over fighting Metal Heads any day of the week," Daxter smiled at me.

"As well you should," Kiki smirked with a wink directed right at Torn.

"I think she wants an apology for your comment you said earlier, Torn," Jak smiled.

"Peh, I'll apologize when those mortars are taken care of, got it?" Torn said, Kiki smirking at that.

"I'll hold you to that, Torn," Kiki smiled as we then went off to do the jobs and I looked at Kiki before she went off ahead.

"You're becoming more and more like Daxter every day, Kiki. I think we need to keep you away from him for awhile," I smiled at her.

"Heehee, I just want to help you guys out and prove that a Metal Head can be a good guy," Kiki smiled widely.

"You've already proven that much, so prove it some more. Make me proud, Kiki," I smiled at her as I gave her a quick hug and she giggled at me.

"Of course, mom," she smiled as she then went ahead with Jak and I heard a loud explosion soon after. I then looked at Errol with a smile and he simply frowned.

"Ready to have a little race? Let's see who can get the most plants healed. Whoever wins gets a foot massage from the loser," I smiled at Errol, him smirking at that.

"The stakes are raised for this one, I see. Okay, time to finally win something against you!" Errol smiled at me widely.


	38. How I Met my Muse Mother

**Chapter 38**

Kiki and I managed to destroy all the different Dark Eco mortars and we then got a call from Sasha soon after.

"Hey, guys? I lost a bet and we found something out from Samos," Sasha said, me wondering what that bet was.

"And what are they?" I asked.

"I now have to give Errol a foot massage when we get down time... and we found out from Grandpa Green that the old Precursor Ruins in South Haven Forest can only be accessed by gaining 5 special artifacts from the Desert West. No doubt talking about the Wasteland. You and Kiki head over there while me, Errol, and Daxter stay behind. Okay?" Sasha said, me smiling at the fact she had to give Errol a foot massage... but why? "And before you ask, I made a bet I could heal more plants than Errol and that the loser had to rub the winner's feet... and I lost by at least 30 plants," Sasha said, me smirking at that. It's like she could read my mind.

"Okay, I'll take the Air Train over to Spargus, then," I smiled as I told Kiki what was going on and she smiled and followed me towards the Air Train, which was actually still run by the guy that ran it back in Praxis's days.

"Ah, you two, huh? How are you back in the city already?" the Air Train guy asked.

"Veger flipped the votes to banish us unfairly, which we heard from Ashelin. Anyways, can you take us to just outside of Spargus City and wait there until we finish up business there?" I asked, the guy nodding at that as he started the Air Train and we zoomed off towards the Wasteland. It took around 30 minutes of a trip to get there, but we eventually arrived right outside of Spargus's gates, where we then proceeded into the garage to see that Sig was there and waiting for us.

"Hey there, guys," Sig smiled at me.

"Hi, Mister Sig," Kiki smiled at him as we then heard a bit of a bluster of wind outside and we saw that a storm was coming in.

"Looks like another storm's gonna churn the sand! Scanners show some more artifact sightings. You feel like burning up the sand to find some?" Sig asked, me nodding at that.

"You bet," I smiled.

"Okay, get to 'em first and they're yours to keep. Wastelander rights. Go waste 'em!" Sig smirked, me nodding at that and getting in the Heat Seeker for a change, since it was faster than taking the Sand Shark.

"Don't tell Kliever about me using this car," I smiled at Kiki and she smiled at me.

"Of course," she smiled as she took to the skies and started to search for artifacts along with me, her using some bombs against the idiotic Marauders that kept trying to get in our way and shoot holes in us. We managed to get roughly 35 different artifacts combined and we saw that one of them looked very important. It looked a lot like a cube, one that could defy gravity and, unless being held, it always traveled in a circle, much like it were in a gravitational pull with itself.

"I think this may be one of the items needed," I said as I then got a call from Keira.

"Hey, Jak? It's Keira. I wanted to know how far along you are in getting to HQ," Keira said, me smiling at that.

"Actually, Kiki and I are in the Wasteland trying to find artifacts to take to South Haven Forest. Any clues on what specific ones we'd need?" I asked her.

"Oh, really? Well, from what I remember from the Precursor history books, that particular ruin can be used as a telescope. And it can use 5 objects, all of which are rare Precursor items. They are the Holo Cube, the Beam Generator, the Precursor Prism, the Quantum Reflector, and a Time Map. It can operate with everything but the Time Map, but the Time Map is also the most crucial part of the machine," Keira said, me smiling at that.

"Well, we found some odd-looking cube-shaped Precursor technology thing out here. Could that be the Holo Cube?" I asked.

"Yep, that's it! You'll need to find some more and then come back here to put them together at the forest. Be careful, okay?" Keira said, me smirking at that.

"Of course," I smiled at her while Kiki then got a message from something, her rubbing her temples a bit as she then spoke... in some weird clicking language. "Kiki? What's going on?" I asked her.

"Metal Morah's contacting me... she says there's a Light Eco crystal in the Metalpede nest... but the Metalpedes inside have gone crazy from the Day Star... she says it's only a matter of time before it commands them to attack Haven, so we should go get rid of them immediately," Kiki said, me smirking at that.

"I'll leave that to you, then, Kiki. Go give 'em hell," I smiled at her before Sig came into the garage with a smile.

"What's this I heard about giving stuff hell?" Sig asked.

"I'm going to take on a bunch of Metalpedes in the Metal Head nest. Want to come with, big boy?" Kiki smiled.

"You bet! I'm game for Metal Head hunting any day!" Sig smirked with enthusiasm. They then waited until the go-ahead from the door, letting them know the storm had ended, which is then that I decided I'd go visit my parents... but hopefully to try and tell Damas about my past and about me being his son. Who knew if he'd believe me or not.

I went through the place on my Jet Board, which I could tell surprised a bunch of the Spargus citizens when they saw me using the floating board to get around the city. I then got off of it and went up the elevator to Damas's throne room and I saw that he was absent, but my mom was... who was in her glowing squirrel form.

"Um... hi," I said, still a bit shy around her. Mom immediately turned into her genie form and then hugged me... it was the very first hug I'd had with her since I was an infant.

"I can't tell you how much I've missed you... Mar," mom said, me being confused at that name.

"Huh? Did you just call me Mar?" I asked her.

"Yes, I did. That was the name I gave you when you were but an infant... I named you after the founder of Haven City, knowing you were destined for great things... but I didn't expect that you'd eventually become my son when we first met on Misty Island," mom said, me smirking at her.

"I see... so how is it like? Being a Muse, a genie, and the queen of Spargus?" I asked her, mom smiling as she sat on the rocks near the water.

"I'm going to be honest... keeping people alive and full of hope out here? In this unforgiving desert? It's kind of daunting at times... and though I was upset at being thrown out of Haven City by that horrible man, I can't deny that it's very nice to be alive," mom said with a smile.

"Don't worry, I hate Praxis, too. He's the one that turned me into a Dark Warrior with that horrid chair," I said, my fists crackling with dark energy before I calmed them down with a bit of light energy.

"You must make a life of your own, son. Look here," mom smiled as she picked up some sand and she sprinkled it about. "Sand cannot hold a shape on its own... but if you add water to it, it becomes malleable. Fate can be such, so long as the right element is applied," mom smiled as she demonstrated.

"Eco, right?" I smiled.

"I see you think alike with me and your father... I may have been banished to these unforgiving lands years ago after living from city to city as a genie or as the Muse, but I've learned a lot from my many years of eternal youth... I mustn't lose you, Mar... not again. I want to know you and be by your side when you're old, like my previous children... the original Mar was one of those very children of mine, one of the purest people ever," mom said, me being a bit surprised at her saying that.

"So... I'm related to Mar?" I asked her.

"Yes, you are. Everyone of Damas and my family line since a thousand years ago are descendants of Mar's lineage... but anyways, I'm rambling by now... I just really missed you a lot, my child," mom smirked at me as she then got some kind of buzzing and she looked at a radar system and gawked. "Uh-oh... Looks like those Marauders are getting testy again. Mar, can you go out and destroy the incoming Marauder threat? They're attacking us with flaming catapults, so make sure you choose your vehicle carefully and quickly. They'll arrive in only 2 minutes!" mom said, me nodding at that.

"I'll destroy every single one of them to protect this place, mom," I smirked as I rushed out of the palace and towards the garage, where I decided on the Dune Hopper and went outside the gates to see that the Marauders were just inching over the horizon with at least 14 different mortar catapults and over 100 different buggies!

"They're sending in the cavalry, eh, bugger?" I heard Kliever say from next to me as he actually was inside of a much bigger car and it had a large ramming front end to it. "Time to clear out these bad boys!" Kliever smirked as he went out and proceeded to ram a catapult so hard it exploded in a ball of fire! I then proceeded to blow up a couple with the Dune Hopper's grenades, which took one grenade each. We continued to do this for all of them and I defeated the final mortar, it dropping an artifact that looked very important and also kinda big. It had to be the Beam Generator without a doubt! And just as soon as I finished this, I then got a message from someone I didn't expect.

"Jak? Can you hear me? This is Seem," the monk girl said on the communicator.

"I can hear you. What's wrong?" I asked in curiosity.

"I require a bit of assistance. Some Marauders attacked one of my Monk carriers and stole some important artifacts from us and took it to their stronghold out on the southern waters. We would appreciate it if you could retrieve them... you can keep one of the artifacts for yourself afterwards, so long as you give us the rest," Seems aid, me smirking at that.

"You can count on me, Seem," I smiled as I then proceeded to drive towards this location without any haste. I had a feeling that, since Seem and her monks were into Precursor technology, at least one of these important artifacts had to be for the ruins in South Haven Forest!


	39. Port Assault and Tess Transformed

**Chapter 39**

After I did a job of helping Jynx blow up some Junction Boxes, we managed to breach a line further into the KG territory, I then had to get an entire shipment of Eco to the Southern Port while Errol shot some missiles that had been fired at us as a defense mechanism. And we were then finally allowed a bit of breathing room as we then went to bed... after I did the grueling deed of paying my debt and giving Errol a foot massage... I'd rather not go into detail, since his feet were very smelly and I even saw a bunion on his left toe...

But we were only able to stay asleep until 3 in the morning of only 5 hours of sleep until Torn shook me, Errol, and Daxter awake to give us an important mission. "I think the forces are finally trying to end us. We're sensing a full-scale assault on the Port," Torn said, Errol being confused.

"Why can't the Freedom Fighters defend like they have been?" he asked.

"That's the thing. It'd be easy if it were just one side pushing against us... but this time, we're sensing movement from both KG and Metal Head fronts. It's almost like they're working together!" Torn said, me gawking at that.

"Hmm... I have a funny feeling that Maia is the one pulling the strings behind this. She's almost completely metal and she's a Dark Eco sage, so she's probably the commander for both sides!" I said, Torn frowning at that.

"You use logic. You guys go out and defend anyone and everyone possible. If we lose this one, we're history," Torn said, me nodding at that grim statement as we then rushed outside and we saw that there were two areas that needed defending already. One was directly in front of the Underport tower and one was right in front of the Naughty Ottsel.

"I'm going to the Underport, you handle this space!" Errol said, me nodding at that as I then proceeded to bring out my Arc Wielder and pretty much fried every single KG robot that came into my field of sight. And once the assault ended in this area, we saw that there were both KG and Metal Head groups rushing toward a group of citizens that had gotten cut off from the fighting!

"Oh no they do not!" I exclaimed as I then activated Light Freeze, as I called it, and ran over to the location while time slowed to a crawl. I then fired a Blaster gunshot at a Metal Scorpion just before it could insert its Dark Eco sting into one of the cowering townies, which ended Light Freeze immediately. I then proceeded to demolish all of the Metal Heads and KG robots that tried to attack the townies, them staying on the ground and wincing with every single explosion and dead Metal Head that thudded against the ground. After I destroyed 50 of each on both sides, they finally stopped assaulting the townies and instead tried to take out the Gun Course! I rushed over there and saw they were bringing in some Blast Bots for this one. I took out my Arc Wielder... only to find it had completely ran dry of ammunition!

"FUCK! I'm out of blue juice!" I exclaimed, seeing only one other option. "Dax... stay calm and get in my bag. I'm going dark!" I growled, Daxter doing just that as I then turned into my Dark Warrior form and proceeded to punch the large walking bomb directly in the legs, managing to destroy the first two and making it start its countdown, me hightailing it out of there before it could explode in my face. And then the second one came in... which was odd, because I knew that I'd seen 3 of them if you included the one I destroyed. I did the same thing to this robot and then I let loose of my feral state and breathed in and out while telling the Light Eco to beat the darkness back.

"Hoo... that was awesome..." I said with a smile as I then got the message from Torn.

"Great job, team! You stopped the assault! Head over to the Gun Course. Tess has some new gun mods for ya," Torn said, me smiling at that. I'd already gotten a gun called the Needle Laser from Jynx while destroying the junction boxes, so I had to wonder what the new gun mod would be.

Once I got into the place, I saw that Tess was kneeling down and adjusting a Dark Eco gun as Daxter then rushed in from behind her and hugged her around her waste, Tess gasping at the feeling of the small furry hands, knowing who it was immediately.

"Daxter! My hero!" Tess smiled as she picked up Daxter and kissed him, me smiling at that. "This city is too dangerous. We should get a nice place out in the country... a big pink house with a picket fence... and a bed where we can cuddle and snuggle all night long," Tess smiled, Daxter looking a bit hesitant at the pink house idea before the final part came in.

"Aw, were you worried about me, my little Tessy-poo?" Daxter said, me facepalming at this.

"Of course my itty-bitty whisker-puss," Tess smiled, me groaning at the display.

"Okay, guys, maybe we should wait until the war is over before you start going all mushy gushy goo-goo on me? Me and Jak don't even go that far," I said with a groan.

"Oh, don't worry about it. We just love each other a lot," Tess smiled as she then gave me a new Red Eco weapon that I smirked at and she also gave me two more for the others when they arrived.

"That's the Plasmite RPG. It's a rocket-propelled grenade filled with plasmite. Use it against anything and it'll blow a bigger hole in them than Krew's asshole," Tess smiled, me smirking at her for that comment.

"It's such a shame, though... you all got very lucky when speaking with Krew. I'm pretty much the only one of us that actually saw him in the nude," I groaned, Tess gagging at that. "Yeah, he sent me 'sexy pictures' of him back when I was in the KG and married to Praxis... he had an infatuation for me and I haven't the foggiest idea as to why he thought I'd like him..."

"Either way, he's dead, so it's not like he can defend himself from the constant jokes at his expense," Errol said with a smile. "Jynx captured that Blast Bot that you missed and rigged it with a remote control and tons more explosives. Can I please be the one to blow up the final forcefield leading to Freedom HQ?" Errol asked, me smiling at that.

"On one condition... the next time we have downtime, you have to massage my feet," I said, Errol smiling at that.

"Payback's a bitch, I guess. Okay, time to do this," Errol smiled as he activated the remote control and it showed a front view of the Blast Bot as he then forced it to move forward down the path from the Port towards the KG sector of the city. And this time, the KG knew that something was screwy and proceeded to send everything they had at Errol to try and slow down the rogue robot. They even had 4 different Blast Bots try to stop him, but Jynx outfitted the laser cannon on the top to constantly fire without ever needing to reheat! And once it connected into the barrier, I could hear the explosion even from inside of the Gun Course!

"Aw, hell yeah! Now we can link up back at Freedom HQ! Here, you deserve this for your job well done!" Tess smiled as she was about to give us one of her Dark Eco weapons... but then we saw something shocking happen. The weapon was actually leaking Dark Eco and Tess accidentally touched some of it with her hand! She then gasped in shock as we saw something start to happen to her body... something that was truly horrifying.

Tess suddenly gained orange fur all over her body, her ears changed to look like small rabbit ears, her body started to shrink more and more, and her hands and feet turned into paws and she gained a fat orange tail! Tess had just been turned into what Daxter was! And by the exact same means as well!

"Oof... w-what happened?" Tess asked in confusion as she poked her head out of her clothes, which would definitely be too big for her as of right now. "Um... why are you all bigger?" Tess asked before I then shushed her with a single finger and I spoke to her calmly.

"Tess... don't be alarmed, but... you just underwent a transformation from touching that Dark Eco... you've become the exact same creature that your boyfriend is," I said, Tess looking at me like I was crazy before she then moved her hand in front of her face and gasped.

"O-Oh my... I... I'm an Ottsel now?" she asked in bafflement.

"Don't worry, baby. You'll get used to it," Daxter said, Tess smiling at that.

"Well... at least the species barrier is no longer a thing!" Tess said, me smacking my face at how dense she could be.

"Okay... how about, for now, you can go ahead and try to knit yourself some new clothes... out of the way of prying eyes?" I said, Tess looking down and looking a bit more shocked.

"Yeah, this isn't going to be easy... can you go ahead and exit the place, Errol? Just until Sasha can put me in her bag?" Tess asked, Errol nodding at that.

"Very well," Errol said as he then left the door and Tess then got out of the bundle of short clothes she wore and I saw that her fur covered up most of her extremities, but you could still see a part of her vagina and the tips of her nipples.

"You look beautiful, Tess," Daxter smiled, Tess smirking at him and then kissing him.

"We'll see how much more beautiful I am when this whole war thing is done, my love," Tess smiled as I then picked up Tess gently and put her in my bag, her then zipping it up almost the whole way shut and Daxter then hopping on my shoulder.

"So... this definitely happened. So where would we go to drop Tess off at?" I asked.

"The Naughty Ottsel, where else? That's where my knitting stuff is at, after all," Tess said, me smirking at that.

"Okay then," I said as I then proceeded to get a Zoomer and head over to the bar, where I then let her out in the private rooms where she and Daxter resided.

"Stay safe, Tess. And so you know, it'd be wise to let everyone know what happened, okay?" I said, her nodding at that.

"You think I don't know that? Of course I will," Tess smiled as she then sat on her knitting table and proceeded to start knitting, which meant it was time for me and Dax to go to the Freedom HQ to see how we could help out. And then I got a call from Jak, who yawned after getting on the horn.

"Getting tired, hon?" I smiled at him.

"Kinda... Kiki and I just got 4 of 5 of the artifacts for the ruins in South Haven Forest... Kiki's gonna go ahead and take a crack at putting the thing back together while I go somewhere to sleep..." Jak said, me smiling at that.

"Why don't we meet up at Freedom HQ? Errol and I got the path cleared from the Port to New Haven," I smiled.

"Okay... Kiki, can you drive me over there? I'm whooped..." Jak said, me smiling at that. He rarely got this tired, so he must've been hard at work in that desert. It made me smile at how this adventure was turning out to be one of our most interesting yet, especially since it involved very old Precursor technology, a Dark Eco-filled star in the sky, Metal Head and KG robot armies attacking the city, Tess turning into an Ottsel, and a two different villains in the form of Veger and Maia.


	40. War Factory Fight

**Chapter 40**

**Kiki POV:**

Since dad had to take a snooze back at Freedom HQ, I decided to have mom meet me halfway, where she took my sleepy dad the rest of the way over so that I could proceed over to the South Haven Ruins, me getting contacted by Keira on dad's communicator, since I decided to borrow it while he slept.

"Kiki, I've been doing some more digging into the books and it turns out that those ancient pillars in the forest are some of the oldest recorded ruins around, just as old as the Catacombs! Take all the different components to the topmost pillar and put them together with the floating telescope there. It apparently allows you to see stuff from space and can link you to the minds of Precursors," Keira said, me smiling at that.

"I'll be careful not to anger them when I meet with them... they may be a bit hostile towards me since I'm a Metal Head," I said with honesty as I got to the door and proceeded through it. And when I reached the other side, I flew myself and the Precursor artifacts to the topmost pillar and then had them emerge and I saw that they actually attached themselves to the telescope one by one, all on their own! The Holo Cube rotated around the telescope's middle part, the Beam Generator became the scope, the Quantum Reflector attached itself to the end, and the Precusor Prism attached itself right in between the main structure and the Beam Generator... and then I heard the booming voice of the Precursors.

"Look into the Astro Viewer, Horaquan Heroine," the Precursor said, me doing that and seeing that it was pointing right at the Day Star... and I could sense nothing but Dark Eco all through it. "Behold! The seed of our destruction!"

"Oof... that looks nasty," I said with a frown as I decided to send a group call to everyone while the Precursor spoke.

"We Precursors built many worlds across the eons, using eco to shape them into something good. But we were foolish! The Dark Makers were once Precursors, but their exposure to Dark Eco changed them. They began twisting worlds, destroying entire civilizations, and now they have found your world once again... it will only be a matter of time before all hope is lost," the Precursor said, me gulping at that.

"How do we stop something with such a giant size and all that darkness?" I asked in worry.

"There is but one last line of defense. Deep in the core of this planet at the bottom of the Catacombs, you will find a Planetary Defense mechanism. Collect 4 each of Light and Dark crystals in order to power it, then activate it. We hope you are more successful than most planets, whose fates have already been sealed," the Precursor spoke, me feeling its influence leave me and me getting on the communicator with everyone soon after.

"We heard all of it... it's just as we feared. We must get to the Catacombs at all costs and we need to continue searching for those Eco crystals and the final piece of that Astro Viewer," Samos said, me nodding at that.

"Come back to base, Kiki. It's high time that you and I go take the fight to Maia directly," mom said, me smirking at that as I then flew through the streets the whole way to HQ, since there was still that final force field that was held in place at the border between the ruined Maintown and New Haven. When I met up in Main Town, I saw that Sasha, Errol, and Daxter were waiting next to our brand new Hellcat MK 3 Attack Cruisers, which meant only one thing.

"We're gonna destroy the War Factory, aren't we?" I smiled wickedly.

"Yes we are, Kiki! Hop onto number three and get strapped in. It's time we give Maia a knock on her door before breaking it down and her as well!" Sasha smiled at me.

"Hey, mom? Did you see Vegar yet?" I asked her.

"Yeah, I did. And I kicked him in the nards on camera, since Dax was filming. He's also now nothing but a lowly citizen and the City Council is gone. Now Ashelin is the one in charge," Sasha smiled widely as we zoomed through the air and we then came across the war factory, which was spewing out some flying attack drones to try and stop us.

"Okay, according to the Cipher that Vin got at the Power Station, we should be able to get into this place after we destroy the power nodes and then the four pillars. Time to do some bombing!" Errol said as he then proceeded to shoot at the yellow orbs all over the rig and I did the same, only I used my own bombs, which packed much more of a punch! After only four of my bombs, I could see that there was some kind of smoke starting to come from the giant floating machine! And then when the giant pillars decided to show their weak spots to attack us, I used my bombs on the first of them and I saw that it actually made the entire War Factory get knocked backwards a bit, which made me a bit worried that it'd crash, but it didn't, thank goodness.

"Okay, the door's open! Let's go in there and do some sabotage!" Sasha smiled as we then landed our Hellcats in the hangar and proceeded on foot to a locked gate that was ahead of us.

"Okay, time for my gun to work its magic," Daxter smiled as he then stood on Sasha's shoulder and brought out his gun. He then fired a single shot at the fence and we smiled at how it not only demolished the gate in one go, but it actually created a gaping hole in the wall that led to the outside!

"That was a blast," mom smiled, me laughing at that and Daxter doing the same while Errol just smirked. We then proceeded up an elevator and we went down a hall until we heard some metal clanking noises on the other side and we happened to see that there was a person there waiting for us. Her entire body minus a few parts of her head were completely made of KG alloy and metal and she looked very deadly with it as well as her face being gray and lifeless.

"I've made some new friends to help me conquer this puny little planet," Maia said, me gawking at that.

"You're talking to the Dark Makers! You're the one that brought them here, you bitch!" I exclaimed angrily. And she simply smiled at me.

"It seems my new mechanical self can communicate with those tortured beings quite well. They're just like you and me, Sasha... well, more me than you. Soon you will see that there is nothing you cannot do with Darkness. HAHAHAHAHAEEEE!" Maia cackled evilly and with a metal bit to her voice.

"The Dark Makers don't play nicely with others, Maia. And I don't know what made you turn into the villain you are today, but I'd say its high time that I put you out of your misery," mom said as she cocked her Arc Wielder and Maia smiled at her.

"I will be the one to rule over this entire planet and all galaxies! But don't fret, little ones. You won't live long enough to see what I turn this place into. Maybe a rock? Or a floating puddle of slag... or nothing at all! Complete oblivion! So hard to choose..." Maia said, obviously mocking us and I did not like that. I immediately threw one of my bombs directly at her face and had it stick to her like it was glue! And then Sasha connected a blast from her Arc Wielder, which managed to shock the daylights out of the robotic bitch! And after Errol then made the bomb explode with a Peacemaker shot, Maia slammed into a very important-looking computer, dropped a Light and Dark eco crystal, and then booked it into a teleporter... but not before Sasha gave her some more shocks and Errol connected a blast of Plasmite RPG to her jetpack on her back!

"Dammit, she got away!" Errol growled as we then saw that the War Factory was billowing out tons of smoke and looked ready to fall! Mom and Errol immediately activated Light Freeze and grabbed me and Dax, me seeing them move super fast through the portal and us exiting back in the Power Station to see Vin was there with Torn and... someone else guarding him and the door.

"Huh?... Is that another Daxter?" I asked in confusion when I saw it was a female version of Daxter with blonde hair on her head and her wearing a knit green shirt, matching bra, and a pair of jean shorts on her body with a tail hole.

"Nope, but I'll give you a hint. I turned into this as of a few hours ago after I touched some Dark Eco at the Gun Course," Tess smiled, me then gasping as I connected the dots together.

"Oh my god... Tess is an Ottsel too, now? Sweet, Daxter! You finally have your dream girl!" I smiled at him, Daxter smiling at that with a cocky grin as Vin then gave me, Errol, and mom some new gun upgrades for the Peacemaker with a spare for dad... which looked pretty complex for a gun.

"What are these?" mom asked.

"That's the Mass Inverter. It was the gun that caused Tess to turn into an Ottsel. She finished working on it, oddly since her new form doesn't get affected by Dark Eco at all. It just doesn't effect her," Vin said, me being even more confused at that.

"What does it do?" I asked.

"If you use it anywhere near enemies, they'll be caught in a blast that makes them move extremely slowly and float through the air, almost as if they're on the moon. Just blast a large group with this gun, then quickly switch to more powerful ones to take out a big group of tough enemies," Tess smiled, me smirking at that.

"Hey, Tess? How about hopping up onto my shoulder for awhile? That way you can join us on our adventures," I suggested, Tess smirking at that and actually taking me up on that offer, hopping onto my left shoulder and Daxter smirking at her.

"Welcome to the family of misfits, Tess," mom smiled... but then, just as Tess giggled, I got a call on dad's communicator.

"Hello?" I asked.

"Metal Kiki! We need urgent help! Maia is sending an attack force from the Day Star to the Monk Temples! They want to steal our information about the Catacombs and important technologies. Please, hurry! If they succeed, the world is doomed!" said a very distraught Seem before the communicator suddenly got cut off.

"Dammit, this isn't good!" I said as I then looked at the others and we all were thinking the same thing.

"Vin, can you make it so that we can go through this teleport ring to the Monk Temple in the Wasteland? Possibly now?" Errol asked, him immediately typing in the coordinates and the teleporter then turning on for us.

"So you know, it's a one-way trip, so I'll call the Air Train to meet you guys at the Wasteland to come back when needed," Vin said, me smirking at that.

"Don't worry, we'll handle these bozos right quick!" I smiled widely as I then jumped through the teleporter, wondering what kind of madness we'd be in for this time.


	41. The Dark Makers Arrive

**Chapter 41**

Upon entering the temple, we were immediately attacked by very odd-looking monsters that were filled with Dark Eco. And their shapes were the stuff of nightmares, looking more like failed lab experiments than they did as infantry!

"What the hell are these things?!" Errol asked in shock after we dispatched of roughly 10 of them, Kiki making sure to use her heat sensors because of them being able to turn invisible.

"I think these may be Dark Makers. That means that Maia's figured out how to wake up some of the creatures on it," Kiki said, me growling at that as we then pushed further into the temple, seeing some more Dark Makers as Kiki used her bombs to blow holes in fragile-looking walls towards the left of the rooms with the invisibility totems. And after making it through a room filled with Dark Makers, we finally arrived at a place of solace. The Precursor statue.

"Once again you stand before me, great heroes. And once again, your heroism shall be rewarded," the Precursor said as I saw the light appear already and Errol and I looked into it and felt... empowered. Like we could do anything and that the skies were the limit! "We grant you a new Light Power. One that can help you go places. Places even in your dreams..."

And when I looked behind Errol's back and then to mine, I saw what the Precursor meant. We'd just gotten wings on our backs! WINGS!

"Whoa! You have wings like I do!" Kiki smiled as she let hers out and we then went over to the east and proceeded to fly our way over a bunch of different places with our wings outstretched and flapping them on occasion. And then, right by a teleporter, we saw that we were a bit too late. Seem was lying on the ground and she had blood on her side.

"Seem!" I exclaimed as I rushed to her and tried to use a green eco pack on her... but it didn't do anything at all. She tilted her head towards me and smiled at me.

"L-Light... Eco..." she said with an exhausted sigh, me then getting what she meant. I then touched her wound and used Light Regeneration, the result being the wound healing up in a snap and Seem then breathed in and out slowly. "T-Thank you..." she said as she then tried to get up, but she was a bit weary from the blood loss. "Maia has figured out how to communicate with the Dark Maker ship... if she can awaken its terrible cargo, the end of the world is sure to follow... but not all is lost," Seem said as she gave me something that I didn't expect her to have. "Take this... the most integral part of the Astro Viewer... and make sure to combine the 8 eco crystals you have... it will power the Planetary Defense grid..." Seem said before she then closed her eyes and went unconscious, Kiki and Errol looking scared, but Daxter held his face to her head and felt her breathing.

"She's still alive, just very drained. We need to get her back to Spargus to heal up," Daxter said as I then got a call from Jak.

"Hey, Sasha?! Where the hell are you? I suddenly woke up and saw I had wings on my back and that you're nowhere to be found!" Jak exclaimed.

"Sorry, Jak, but I had to do a little rescue mission to save Seem. Where are you at right now?" I asked him.

"I'm on my way to Spargus in the Air Train. And where are you at?" Jak asked.

"Errol, Dax, Kiki and I are at the Monk Temple. We're going to fly our way back, since we have an injured Seem that needs some rest and we need to get her back home," I said as we then used the warp gate to return to the start of the temple. And from there, we got a good take-off point from the top of a boulder and we proceeded to fly off into the distance with Daxter holding onto my head and neck while Kiki and Errol flew along while holding onto Seem. And then I got a sudden call from Damas, who got on the line with Jak and the rest of us.

"Guys! We need you back here at Spargus! We're detecting major movement on the sonar. It's not a storm... it's... something else! My guess is that it's linked to those strange satellites we've been seeing. Come back and defend our city with whatever you got! Jak will get on the turret gun. This is the chance for you all to repay your life debts!" Damas exclaimed, me nodding at that and seeing the Air Train arrive from behind us just as we touched down in the garage of Spargus.

"I'll go get Seem to the Battle Arena for safety. You guys go and save the town, got it?!" Errol exclaimed, me nodding at that.

"Right! Time to show these guys how heroic we Haven City dwellers can really be!" I exclaimed as we then rushed into the city and proceeded to attack the different Dark Makers while Jak went to the southwest and got on the gun. And the moment he got on the gun, something bad happened. Giant walker mechs started to fall out of the sky like meteors and proceed to send tons of bombs towards us while also trying to use their tendrils to snag the Spargus denizens!

"Oh no they do not!" I exclaimed angrily as I flew into the air and unleashed a Gyro Burster package on one of these mechs that was trying to snag people up! And when it released on its face, it got damaged so badly that it fell to the ground and exploded! I proceeded to use all the gun types that I had available on me and saw the Plasmite RPG was the most effective, as it blew the creatures' heads up the most effective. And once the dust cleared, we saw that there were virtually no lives lost and that there were only minor injuries. Damas, Marigold, Kliever, and Sig then approached us at the turret gun with smiles on their faces.

"Today was a great battle! Great work everyone! The times we are in right now are grim, but when I was the leader of Haven City, times seemed grim then as well. Take heed, for even the smallest flower finds shelter between the rocks," Damas said with a smile and I couldn't help but notice that he looked at Jak with some kind of twinkle in his eye.

"Thanks, Lord Damas," Jak smiled politely.

"Of course... Mar," Damas said, that actually shocking me, Jak, Kliever, and Sig all at the same time!

"W-Wait, wait, hold up, boss! Did you just call him Mar? As in, the name of the original ruler? Or the name of your son?" Sig asked in confusion.

"The name of our son. Believe me, I was surprised when I learned of it as well. But after looking deeper and talking to some of Sasha's clients in private, both Damas and I both believed every word of it," Marigold said, me smirking at that.

"So... you stole my communicator and took some of the phone numbers? When?" I asked.

"I took the numbers when we rescued you from being knocked out. We do it for all the survivors... but to be honest, I didn't really believe you at first when you said Jak was my son, Mar... so I decided to call a couple of your friends from the city, namely those named Torn, Ashelin, Keira, and Samos. And all of them told me the same story," Marigold said.

"Mar," Damas smiled as he held two things in hand for Jak. "Here is your third and final battle amulet. All of you are Wastelanders now. When fully formed, those amulets act as beacons. If ever you need help, use it to call and we'll be there. And this is for you," Damas said as he handed Jak some cool chest armor. "I was saving this for you when you came of age. But I guess that day is today," Damas smiled as Jak then put on the armor over his shirt and I smirked at him.

"Thanks, but I don't have anything to give you," Jak said.

"You give us all hope, son. That combined with us finally being together again is gift enough," Damas smiled as he then gave a man hug to him and I smiled.

"Happy reunion," I smiled at it as I then got contacted by Samos.

"Sasha, this is Samos. Something bad's happened. Maia has found a way to activate the forcefields on the Dark Maker Ship. Do you have a Time Map handy?" Samos asked.

"Why yes, we just got one," I smirked at him.

"Great! You're going to need to go to the Astro Viewer and hook it up there... though there's a problem. Dark Maker warriors have taken up residence in the forest. It'll be a challenge even to reach the Astro Viewer! Destroy every single Dark Maker in the place," Samos said, me nodding at that.

"Hey, Sig? How about we do things differently? Errol, you and Kiki will stay here and defend Spargus from anymore full-scale assaults. Jak, Daxter, and I will go back to Haven and finish business there, take down that Dark Maker ship's shields, and get going towards the Catacombs soon after. If we get into trouble, we'll call you on our beacons. And we expect you to rush over ASAP when that happens, okay?" I said, them all nodding at that.

"Indeed. Now comes time for the final fight! Good luck and welcome to the clan!" Damas smiled at us as I then proceeded out of town and to the Air Train without any haste. And once back in Haven City (after a 30 minute ride) we then hitched a Zoomer to the Metal Head Sector and directly into the forest to see that the entire place was overrun with Dark Makers! They has strange structures perched on the cliffs and rocks that produced more troops, they had aerial troops that flew and shot Dark Eco bullets, and they even had some turrets mounted that fired even more Dark Eco! I decided it'd be time to play dirty, so I turned on Light Freeze and proceeded to attack all of the strange nests first. Once they were all destroyed, time flowed regularly again and I then saw that Jak then got the same idea and he proceeded to get a turret and fire blasts at the Dark Makers that were left remaining from my onslaught until all of them were killed!

"Nice moves, padres! Time to get to the top of that thing and hook up the Time Map," Daxter smiled as we did just that using our wings. And the area to put the Time Map at was right on the left side of the Beam Reflector. And once Jak put it in and looked through the lens, he gasped and looked a bit agitated.

"AGH! Get out of my head!" Jak exclaimed, me and Daxter being worried immediately.

"Jak! What's going on, buddy?" Daxter asked in worry.

"It's... linking me... into the ship... they're taking me to them..." Jak said as I then saw that he was losing his consciousness, yet he still stood in place.

"Jak? Jak!" I exclaimed, wondering how I could see what he was. And when I put one finger on his forehead, I saw what he was doing. He'd been jacked into one of the Dark Maker machines and he was wrecking the ship from the inside-out! It was ingenious! And then, he found what he was looking for. A large power core that was powering the shields for the ship! He then proceeded to destroy it with balls of Dark Eco that were used like explosives. And when the explosions consumed him... he then saw something at the same time I did. A bunch of Ottsels were standing in our minds... all of them wearing white robes and pants.

"Our heroes!" they all said at once before we then saw the scenery change back to our immediate area, Daxter looking a bit confused.

"What the?... Daxter?" Jak asked.

"What'd you see? Come on, let me see! Come on! Elevator going up!" Daxter said, me thinking hard on what the hell just happened. From the Precursor's message to Kiki, the Dark Makers were originally Precursors... and after Jak demolished the shield systems, a bunch of Ottsels appeared soon after and called us heroes, like the Precursor voices were saying...

"Um... I do not know what to think of this... so I'm just going to say the first idea that popped in my head... Ottsels... are Precursors," I gawked, Jak looking at me with a smile and Daxter looking at me like I was crazy. "I'm serious! You saw it too, right Jak? A whole bunch of Ottsels calling us heroes? After you destroyed the shield systems for the ship?" I said, Jak smirking and nodding at that.

"I know. I'm just smiling at the fact that I thought the same thing," Jak admitted, me smirking at that.

"So... wait... if the Precursors are Ottsels... does that mean... I'm..." Daxter asked in shock.

"Technically, it would also include Tess," I said, Daxter then getting a big grin on his face.

"OOOH YEAH! I'm a Precursor!" Daxter exclaimed with glee as I then smirked at him.

"Yeah. But we should probably keep this a secret for right now. It'd really hurt Samos's pride if he found out that the Precursors were a bunch of fuzzballs and that Daxter is one of them," Jak smiled.

"Agreed... so what now?" I asked... but then I got a call from Samos.

"Guys, I need to speak with you about urgent matters. Meet me and Onin at her old tent outside of the old Fortress. You can use any mode of travel, because Ashelin took down the last forcefield by executive order," Samos said, me smirking at that.

"Let's see what they want to know," I smiled.


	42. The Precursors' Return and Maia's Defeat

**Chapter 42**

The moment we met with Onin in her tent, Pecker immediately started to speak for her as she started to sign.

"Onin says that there are strange forces at work. She senses an unfathomable power that she has never before felt in all her years... something is now awake deep in the Catacombs," Pecker said.

"We need to get there right away or else Maia will activate the Dark Maker ship's cargo," I said with seriousness.

"Onin says that she sees your future turning black with uncertainty... you must make your way through the Palace ruins to the Catacombs. Pecker will lead you to the Cata-" Pecker was about to say before he squawked in shock. "What?! What did you say?!"

"You're the one that has a direct link to Onin, Pecker. Whatever you see, I'm sure she'll be able to see. Just get us as close as you can. Besides, we can fly alongside you," I said with a smile as I then activated my wings, Pecker gawking at them while Onin smiled.

"Okay, fine. But I am gone the moment that things get sticky. Let's go!" Pecker said with seriousness as I then looked at Jak and smiled at him.

"We may need some Wastelander help for this one. Want to activate our beacons?" I smiled.

"With pleasure," Sasha smiled as we then took them out and tried to activate them... but it only gave off a small light and it looked busted.

"Yeah, those things are more broken than a worn out pawn shop in South Town," Dax frowned.

"No, there is one way to check," I smiled as I then called up Errol.

"Jak? Did you just activate your beacon?" Errol asked.

"Yes, me and Sasha both did. Bring the biggest and baddest guns and vehicles you can get. And tell Kiki to get Metal Morah to join up for the fight. It's high time we finally breach the Catacombs!" I smiled.

"You heard her, Kiki! Time to get the Wastelanders and go out on the fight of a lifetime!" Errol exclaimed as he then hung up and I smiled afterwards.

"Time to fly?" I smiled as I then flapped my wings a bit, Sasha then letting her wings out as well.

"Time to fly," she smirked as we then proceeded to use our Light Flight wings to fly over the walls of the old fortress and directly into the ruined Bazaar area and we proceeded to take the time to shoot the brains of Metal Heads in this area of the city, which were mostly consisted of Metal Mantises and Crab Heads. After killing roughly fifty of each, we finally decided to touch down on the ground at the northern side of the Palace Ruins, where we then decided to take a breather from our Light Eco usage, mainly because we were low on juice.

"Okay, it's only a matter of time until we reach the entrance to the Catacombs..." Pecker said. But just as soon as he said that, we heard some piercing screeching happen as not one, not two, but THREE Dark Maker Satellites came down and zeroed in on me and Sasha.

"This does not look like it will end well..." I said with a gulp as I braced for impact... only for a loud engine to barrel through the crumbled walls, crash into the Dark Maker Satellites, and the driver skidded to a stop right next to us! And guess what? It was my dad, Damas! And he brought along some other faces!

"Haha! Boom baby!" Sig exclaimed as he came in on the Gila Stomper with Kliever while Errol rode in on Kiki and we then heard another loud noise.

"YEEHAAWW! This is the most fun I've had in centuries! WHOOHOO!" exclaimed my very excited mom as she rode on the top of a giant Metalpede with a lion face and at least twenty spikes coming from its sides!

"Well, I'm guessing that you must be Metal Morah, right?" I asked with a smile.

"Heehee, quite right, Mar. I decided to join in on this assault," Morah smiled as I Sasha hopped onto the turret of the Gila Stomper and I got into the side seat along with dad.

"Let's break through," I smirked widely as we then proceeded to smash our way through the numerous rubble of the entire place... which wasn't easy, since there were tons of Dark Makers invading the area and for some odd reason, there were mortars being fired from outside the city walls!

"Dammit! I knew that guy looked suspicious with his large machine!" mom said angrily.

"What guy?!" I asked loudly.

"He had a bald head and a fancy pants getup! Had a strange staff, too!" mom said, me growling at that.

"Veger," I frowned as we finally made it through the rest of the place... but then, just as we had gotten past all of it... the worst happened. A mortar hit mine and Damas's car directly on the backside! I flew out of it and landed on the ground face-first with Daxter beside me... it was a hard blow... but then, I heard mom scream in horror.

"Damas! No!" she exclaimed as I then rushed over and saw a sight that made me feel... defeated. My father was pinned underneath the full weight of the car... he had metal stabbing him all through his torso and even his leg. Even if we were to use Light Regeneration, it wouldn't be of any use with his severe injuries.

"Not... bad driving, son..." dad said as I held my hand to him and he smiled. "It was a good day to live... and a good day to die... I'm proud that I could... be by your side... at the end," dad said as I felt tears emit from my eyes. "Promise me... one thing, Mar... Promise me... you'll continue to do good... save the people... they need you... continue on... the House of Mar..." Damas said, me smiling at him.

"I promise... father," I said with a smile. Damas did the same thing before I saw the life leave him. And then I heard someone I did not want to hear.

"Yes. You were that child," said Veger as I looked up to see him and all of my allies looked at him angrily. "I took you from Damas, hoping to harness your eco powers for my experiments. Then, I lost you to the Underground," Veger said, me growling as I could feel the anger boil at a thousand degrees.

"AAAUGH! VEGER!" I exclaimed in pure fury as Veger then looked behind him with a smile.

"Thank you for opening the door to the Precursors. Don't worry, I'll be back to put you all out of your misery," Veger said as he hopped into one of only 2 available Precursor cars.

"After him, guys! Sasha, me and Jak, CHARGE!" Daxter exclaimed, me and Sasha rushing to the vehicle and both of us riding in it through the Catacombs. This time, we were going downwards through a long tube and we had to encounter much more obstacles in the form of the power nodes, some machines that shot at us constantly unless we shot and destroyed them, electric traps, and a lot of holes in the grates! It was an exhilarating ride until we got to an area that was very dark as we proceeded forward into the darkness... before the entire place came to life with the bronze orange lights of the Precursor technologies.

"Greetings, great warriors! Before it is too late, you must activate the Planetary Defense weapon," the Precursor said in its fake, deep voice, Sasha smiling and showing off that she had combined the 8 Eco crystals into a perfect sphere, which she then put inside of a console as I saw a weapon start up on both sides of the giant statue. "The weapon will take some time to charge to full. But when it fires, the Dark Makers attacking this planet will be no more," the Precursor said as they then had an apparition appear before us. "You are worthy of your heroic status, Jak and Sasha. We grant you the gift of evolution. The honor of becoming one of us..." it said, me shaking my head along with Sasha before we then heard Veger from nearby as he held a pistol in his hand.

"Step aside! I will be the one to evolve into a Precursor! THE RIGHT IS MINE!" Veger exclaimed angrily, Sasha, myself, and the Precursor entity saying the same thing at the same time.

"Be careful what you wish for," we said as Veger then got Light envelop his body and I saw he didn't get the transformation immediately and he looked smug about it.

"It is done. Don't worry, you freaks. It is for the greater good that I assume this role," Veger said as Sasha then growled at him.

"Listen, Veger. You think that everyone is going to WANT you to be their savior when they all know that me and Jak did all the work? You did zilch and we have witnesses that can prove that you did horrid deeds," Sasha said with anger as she then looked at the Precursor and smiled. "Besides, we know exactly what the truth behind the Precursors are. Hey, glow boy? Why don't you show us your real self? Show Veger what he's about to turn into and make him realize he just got major comeuppance for his crimes... or would you rather let us tell the whole world on our own?" Sasha smirked.

"Very well," the Precursor said as the apparition disappeared and a hidden door in the base of the statue opened up... and it was just as I expected. The Precursors were right there and they were all Ottsels. One looked a bit on the dumber side with a Precursor orb on his head and buck teeth, one looked like he could be a surfer dude, and the last one was a bit chubbier and had an even more impressive staff than Veger.

"Well, it was bound to happen sooner or later, I guess," the middle one smiled, Veger looking at them in pure dumbfounded shock as I saw his eye twitch. "You can understand, can't you? Why we had to fluff up the myth about us Precursors? If people knew the truth, that we were a bunch of little fuzzy rats, it'd be impossible for us to have as high a reputation as we deserve... so we fluff up the myth... a bit," the chubby one said with a smile.

"Then we get da respect we deserve!" the dummy smiled as Veger then growled angrily.

"YOU IDIOTS! Step away from there and stop defiling that glorious machine!" Veger exclaimed as he aimed his pistol at the middle one... and the fuzzy rat fired a beam at Veger that was lightning fast and trapped him in a stasis bubble!

"Do not let our size fool you. We are the most powerful beings in the universe," the leader smiled... at least, I hoped he was.

"We are?" the dummy said, Sasha smirking at that as she then asked a very important question.

"Hey, how come whenever you guys touch Dark Eco, you turn into Dark Makers... but Daxter and Tess turned into Precursors after touching the substance?" she asked, bringing up a valid point.

"Ah yes. We full-blooded Precursors have that disadvantage of being able to be corrupted by Dark Eco. But as for humans such as Daxter and Tess, they turn into Precursors if they happen to have a certain blood type and they touch Eco of a specific group. The blood type in question is O negative, the rarest out there. So when they touched the Dark Eco, they were blessed to be half-Precursor and half-human," the leader said, Daxter smirking at that.

"And how come you have pants and I don't?" Daxter asked with sass.

"These creatures are the great Precursors?! And I wanted to evolve into a..." Veger said before he then realized that he was about to get major karma. "NO! AAAAUUUGGGHH!" Veger exclaimed as his body then shrunk and became super fuzzy as his clothes all fell off of him and we saw he actually had darker fur color than the others, most likely due to his negative traits.

"A little drafty, isn't it?" Daxter smiled at him.

"The only way to ensure that Maia can not awaken the Dark Ship's cargo before the weapon fires is to go there yourself and stop her. We can transport you there from here," the leader said.

"But what about the weapon? How long will we have?" Sasha asked.

"Don't worry about it, girl! You should have at least 6 minutes to get there and back before-"

"Hopefully before-"

"Baboom! Oho yeah!" the surfer, leader, and dummy said in order.

"Okay, time to do this thing!" I exclaimed as we rushed into the teleporter behind us and we found ourselves right where I started me trek before with the Dark Maker robot. And we already had some enemies that needed mowed down. And once we did, the door to the north of us opened up and we went through. We proceeded to jump and shoot our way through the interior of the place until we came across a Light Eco vat that was in a cage, which we absorbed into our bodies and we then gained our Light Flight wings to get over some deep gaps in the ground. And when we went down a long elevator, we only had 3 minutes to go until the place blew up... and we saw a whole slew of gigantic war machines in what appeared the be the cargo bay of the ship.

"If any of these nasty things decide to wake up, the planet's finished!" Daxter gawked as we then saw that Maia was in front of us and that she was gloating to herself.

"All of these Dark Makers at my command... oh this is going to be fun!" she smiled as I then shot a blast of the Mass Inverter at Maia, her gasping in slow motion as she then floated in the air like she defied gravity. And with her jet pack busted, she couldn't easily escape it.

"Time to pay for your crimes, Maia!" Sasha exclaimed as she then took her Light wings and forced the Light eco to enter her hand as I saw it had a very powerful sphere in it. It was the exact same method I used to kill Maia before... and she looked scared shitless as Sasha rushed at her and connected the blast of Light Eco directly at Maia's face, which caused a massive explosion that not only destroyed her, but it also blew up every single one of the robots in the place! The explosions were so numerous that we didn't have much time before the ship exploded because of Sasha's sheer force of power! I immediately activated Light Freeze and grabbed Daxter and Sasha, rushing us forward along the crumbling pathway and jumping us directly through a teleporter, which warped us outside of the gates to Spargus city. And just as soon as we did this, we saw a massive laser fire form the south over the horizon and fire directly at the distant Day Star. The result was the entire ship exploding and making a shock wave that we could see from our standpoint! It was awesome!

"WE DID IT! We saved the world!" Daxter exclaimed in glee as I saw that Sasha looked a bit drained as she laid on the ground with a smile and laughing a bit.

"No... Sasha did," I smiled as I picked her up and she hugged me with her arms around my neck.

"Once Haven City... is cleared of robots... I want married... and at least one kid... no more putting it off... hon," Sasha smiled as she then fell asleep soon after and I smiled.

"Looks like I'm going to have wedding bells in my future..." I said with a smile as I simply looked at the city of Spargus and smiled. "Dad would be proud... he'd be proud of all of us..."

* * *

It only took five days time to get the remaining KG robots taken care of in Haven City and the exact moment the Day Star exploded, all the Metal Heads in the city came to their senses and left the city to go back to their original homes, namely to the different areas that Sasha mentioned. At least a third of them went to the volcano in the Wastelands to be with Metal Morah, some went further to the north to be in the Icelands, and there were some that went to the west of Spargus to enter the outskirts of a place called Kras City.

The Precursors then insisted that we all meet with them in Spargus's battle arena, since they planned on leaving our planet to go to a different one. We all decided to go there, even Metal Morah joined in a human disguise, which was a little much. She was very tall in her human disguise, roughly 6'8'' and she had on a slightly gaudy outfit that slightly helped hide her medium-wide frame.

"Great heroes of this planet, we owe you everything. To Onin, Samos, and all. Your continued efforts give us all hope for the future of the universe," the Ottsel Leader said with a smile as I saw that Samos was, of course, taken aback. And Seem stayed on a side platform along with Ashelin and Keira. And Seem refused to stop kneeling in the presence of the Precursors, even after learning how they really looked.

"My life's work, it turns out was spent searching for a bunch of fur balls," Samos said with a groan as I smiled at him from my standpoint. Myself, Errol, Sasha, Dax, Kiki, and Tess were on the center platform near a Precursor rocket that would take the trio of Precursors to another planet.

"Jak, Sasha, and Errol, you have turned out to be great heroes. We need more people like you in the universe," the leader smiled.

"But bros, there are like, WAY more challenges in the future," the cool Precursor smiled.

"Yeah... Or was it da past?" the dumb one asked.

"Yes, yes, I was getting to that," the leader said, me smirking at that and being about to speak before Errol spoke.

"Apologies, but I'm not a hero. I'm just someone repaying a lifelong debt to some people that I did horrible things to in the past... also known as these two," Errol said with a frown as he hung his head.

"You may not say you are a hero, Errol, but being able to sacrifice your entire way of life to do the right thing is a truly admirable thing to do. And your misdeeds ended up creating two very powerful heroic warriors," the leader said, Errol still looking down. "If you wish, we can grant you one of your deepest desires," the leader said, Errol looking at him and sighing.

"I want my smile to be good again. I need new teeth to fill in the holes in my grin," Errol frowned. The Precursor leader then zapped a beam at Errol and we were surprised at how Errol's teeth actually were back in his mouth and they all had a shiny sheen of white to them. And Errol was shocked as well. "T-Thank you..." Errol said as he then knelt down, something out of character for him.

"Hey, if we're having wishes being granted here, I'd like it if Tess and I can have one, please?" Daxter said.

"Of course. We owe you much, Daxter and Tess, for staring danger in the face and braving impossible odds, we will grant your deepest desires," the leader smiled.

"Well, I know one thing that I'd like. I'd really like some snazzy pants. Like yours," Daxter smiled, the Ottsel leader then granting that wish and sending a beam at Daxter, him getting a new pair of pants in an instant.

"Sweet!" Daxter smiled.

"And as for my wish? I want me and my schnookums to have 20 pairs of our new clothing each," Tess said, me facepalming at that. The leader simply smiled and granted her wish, resulting in the two of them having 20 different sets of their new clothes. Daxter now had 20 different pairs of pants, all different designs... and Tess got 20 different outfits for her to wear in her new form.

"I don't understand why you decided for that to be your wish, honestly," I admitted before Sammie and Minnie spoke for me from up on the throne area, where they were standing alongside Onin, Samos, Sig, Morah, Torn, Vin, and Pecker.

"Girls like to wear a lot of good clothes, Jak. That's what girls like more than anything," Sammie smiled.

"That and finding the perfect person to be with," Minnie smiled as she then looked towards Keira and winked, making her blush.

"Well, it's about time that we set off. Farewell, everyone," the leader said as the Precursor rocket opened up and we saw a bunch of Ottsels inside already.

"Wait," Sasha said, them all being confused, but stopping regardless. "I wanted to know... are Tess, Daxter, and Vagina going to be the only Precursors on this planet after this? Or are there others around?" she asked. And that was a very valid question.

"There are other Precursors on this planet, Sasha Nell. As a matter of fact, now that the Dark Makers have been destroyed and we are leaving, more Precursors are going to start waking up from under the ground you walk on. Though we may leave, the Precursors will still be here on this planet. Do not worry," the leader said as I noticed that Kliever happened to convince Veger to be on his shoulder... and I could see that Veger was rightfully terrified of him.

"Ah, wot a team we'll make. Just don't make me angry!" Kliever growled.

"Bye, fuzzy Precursors! It was nice to meet you!" Kiki smiled widely, the Precursor leader then doing one final thing before the door closed. He sent a small blast of light at Kiki and I was confused by what he had done... but then, we were surprised when Kiki actually happened to grow once again... and this time, she breathed in and out a bit before picking herself up. And Morah looked at her in shock as the rocket then jetted off into the skies above us.

"My word... the Precursors just made Kiki a Metal Head Leader!" Morah gawked, me and Sasha being surprised at that and looked at Kiki, her smiling as we saw that her physical appearance didn't change, but we could literally see the power emanating from her.

"I... I feel weird... Morah?... What's going on with me?... Why does my tummy feel funny?" Kiki asked.

"You've become a Metal Head leader, Kiki, and part one of that is that you're going to need to make more Metal Heads from egg hatching. The good news, however, is that you can mold your children to look however you please for each egg produced," Morah said, me and Sasha looking at each other and then at Kiki with a smile.

"We're gonna be grandparents, then?" I asked, Sasha immediately looking at me with a glare as she then spoke again.

"You're going to pay for that comment later on, hon. I can promise you that," Sasha smiled at me widely.


	43. Kras Course

**Chapter 43**

Jak and I ended up getting married very shortly after the Precursors left... and the same thing happened with Daxter and Tess... and Torn and Ashelin on top of that. Keira, Sammie, and Minnie were a couple for 9 months now, which I thought was good at how they took things slowly... but not all was pleasant, unfortunately. Sadly, only a month after the Precursor leader left the planet, Onin died of old age and we gave her a respectful burial in the Precursor Monk Temple near Spargus City. We figured she deserved to be as close to the Precursors as possible, considering she was just as happy to see them in person as she was to learn about their history, unlike Samos, who was a bit touchy on the subject of accepting the Precursors as little fuzzy rats.

And another bit of good news was that Kiki had already had 40 different children due to her new status as the Metal Head Leader of Haven City, all of them looking exactly like humans of different kinds, based off of Kiki and all of them being quite tough, yet very nice to everyone. And only 10 of them were in their teenage forms while the others were still in their infant stages. It was a good bit for us, and Jak and I actually had a kid of our own a bit after getting married, us having our child a year ago and her being adorable. As for her name? We called her Maria, which was just a bit different than Jak's real name.

Marigold had taken over for running Spargus in Damas's stead, but with the help from Metal Morah and Metal Fridgion, they actually managed to build a storm-proof wall the whole stretch of the wasteland to prevent people from having sand kill them during the storms. And Morah also managed to demolish the entirety of the Marauder camps in the Wastelands and capture every one of their warriors.

And shortly after Maria's 4th birthday, we then got a call from someone... someone we didn't know for a change. "Hello? Who is this?" I asked into the communicator.

"Greetings, miss Sasha. My name is Rayne... I am calling to request that you and my father's closest associates come to my mansion in Kras City to toast to his untimely demise... I'll send you the coordinates in a short while, as well as the date and time," the caller said, Jak immediately asking her a question.

"Wait, before you hang up abruptly, tell me. Who was your father?" Jak asked.

"Krew," she said, Jak looking a bit shocked at that as I actually felt a bit sick from hearing that Krew had reproduced... how the hell could he and why would he?

"O-Okay... I'll think about it," I said as I then hung up and I could literally hurl from something other than morning sickness... at least having Maria made me realize that Dark Eco injection was, indeed, way worse than child birth. I had felt so much pain from the injections, Maria was simply me pushing and feeling no pain at all, something the doctors were shocked by when they delivered her... but after hearing that Krew had a daughter? I felt like I was ready to throw up.

"You okay, Sasha?" Jak asked me.

"Ugh... Krew... having a kid... I feel like that's the most disgusting bit of news ever... and how could he do so with fat rolls like that?" I groaned as I then rushed to the sink and puked into it, Maria coming out from the bedroom and looking at me in curiosity.

"Daddy? Why is mommy acting like a walrus?" Maria asked as I continued to dry heave.

"She just found out that someone had a kid when we thought it impossible, just from him being unhealthy," Jak said to her.

"Who was it, mommy?" Maria asked, me then smirking as I finished dry heaving after hearing Maria's innocence.

"A man that we stopped from doing very bad things... but why would that Rayne girl wait so long to toast her father's death? Something doesn't make sense about all this," I said.

"I think I know how to go about this... we get everyone to go to the toasting, but we all pretend to toast and don't actually drink whatever is offered. I have a feeling that Krew has a hand in it, and knowing him, he'd probably try to do something nasty," Jak suggested.

"Good thinking, Jak," I smiled as I then called everyone of our friends up and found that they all decided we should go, just to see what Kras City was like, since none of us had been there before... well, almost everyone. Some such as Metal Morah, Marigold, and Vin didn't go for their own reasons. Morah because she was busy working with Marigold and vice-versa and Vin because he was actually scared of going to Kras City.

"Why are you scared of Kras City, Vin?" I asked him.

"Do I have to spell it out? That place is the most crime-ridden place out there! It's run by the Mizo crime ring, a ruthless group that kills anyone that disagrees with them!" Vin said in worry, me frowning at that. Why would Rayne, Krew's daughter, live in a place as lawless as what Vin described? I would have to think later, because we then got the call from Rayne telling us to meet up in Kras City in 2 days time at the coordinates listed. It was right where I expected to to be, just a bit west of Haven City, which meant we had to go over the Forbidden Jungle and Haven Forest in order to reach it, as well as cross a large body of water. And when we arrived, we actually saw that Kras City was a port town, as there were tons of boats and shipping rigs all over a harbor-like area with the main city being on a small bit of mainland that was actually connected to a patch of land that led to the Icelands.

Upon arriving, not ten minutes later did we start getting people giving us death threats. And Dax decided to do a daring deed and go out to the bar to tell some tall tales, only for Jak to get attacked by a bunch of combat drivers and saving Daxter from death from bad guys at the bar! I learned this soon after we had all congregated at Rayne's mansion, seeing that the place was very elaborate and that there were Metal Head trophies on the wall, including a Metal Mammoth and a Metalpede mounted on the walls, which impressed me. But as for Kiki? She was a bit antsy when she sat down.

"You feeling some more eggs coming, Kiki?" I asked her.

"No, I'm just a bit nervous... if it's Krew's daughter, I don't know how she'll react to me, what she'll plan to do to us, or how flabby she'll look," Kiki said.

"Agreed. But remember the plan. Don't drink the toast or eat the food. None of us trust Krew or any of his plans, so just pretend to take a swig of wine, okay?" I said, them all nodding at that as I then looked around and looked at my watch. "Huh... she said it'd be around this time of day, but she's not here yet... well, maybe she's stuck in a doorway or something?" I smirked, Daxter and Tess laughing at that before we then heard some footsteps from nearby.

"Ah, I see you've all arrived. Though it seems that some didn't make it... ah well," said the voice of Rayne as we all looked at her and we were gobsmacked. She looked absolutely beautiful, completely the opposite of Krew! The only thing they shared was a love of green attire... though with Krew, I wouldn't be surprised if it was from sweat and moss on a white shirt. "I'm Rayne," she said, me smirking at her.

"Question... are you adopted?" I asked, Rayne frowning at that before nodding her head. "Whew... I was scared that Krew might've had the ability to have kids... and I threw up at the thought of it," I admitted, Rayne sighing at that.

"Understandable. Most people ask me that question if they know Krew was my father," Rayne said as she then got a bottle of vintage wine and she then poured it into a bunch of different glasses. "Before father passed, he left his will, which he requested be read by his closest associates. This wine was provided to toast his passing before the will played," Rayne said, me looking at everyone and them nodding. "A toast to new friends and father's untimely death," Rayne said as we then pretended to drink our wine dry... but in reality, we all hid the contents in small coolers we had that we made sure to keep hidden... as for Daxter and Tess? They simply poured theirs into two different bottles that were on the table and empty.

"I think it's time that we played the will," Rayne smiled, not noticing our trick at all. She then placed a recording device on the table and we saw a hologram of Krew appear, his visage actually making Maria scared as she then hid behind me and underneath my chair.

"Hello friends, and mostly enemies... if you're listening to this, then I must be dead... ah well..." Krew's message said as his visage then moved around the room slightly in his floaty chair. "I have asked you all here to help accomplish an old dream of mine. There are two things I love most in this world. Racing, and guns. But despite everything I tried in my life, I could never win the biggest and most elaborate race of them all, the Kras City Racing Championship. You've all been hired to win the race fo me. So what do you say?" Krew asked, me, Errol, and Kiki immediately saying "YES!" while everyone else yelled "NO!"

"I'm assuming you're all riled up by now, so now I'll explain why you WILL race for me and you WILL win! If all went as planned, then you just had a touching toast in my honor. Sorry to say, but I put POISON in that vintage!... Quite unsporting of me, really," Krew said, me smirking.

"I knew it. I told you all that I smelled a rat! Okay, pay up your bets!" I said immediately, the ones that I bet with immediately handing me 3 Precursor orbs each as Rayne looked shocked by Krew's message as well as me speaking.

"FATHER!" Rayne exclaimed angrily as I saw some tears form in her eyes.

"This is where Rayne probably gets upset. Sorry dear. It's a slow-acting poison, or else you'd all be dead by now. If you happen to win the racing championship, a client of mine will provide an antidote for the poison," Krew said as the visage then disappeared and Ashelin immediately got her gun out and put it to Rayne's chin.

"What the hell were you planning on doing to us?!" Ashelin exclaimed angrily, me hissing at her in my Dark form for what she just said in front of Maria.

"Ashelin! Language! My kid is here," I said, Ashelin frowning at that, but keeping the gun at Rayne's throat.

"P-Please... I didn't know! I drank it too. Father never did play favorites," Rayne said with a frown.

"Yeah? Well your father's crazy!" Torn growled lowly.

"I think all of us are crazy for trying to come to this place!" Tess groaned. I looked into Rayne's eyes and then to her glass... She did take all of it in one go.

"She's telling the truth. Not a droplet left in this glass of hers," I frowned, Ashelin then holstering her gun and Krew's visage appearing again.

"Well, it's been about one minute. So I'm assuming you're all arguing about how to get out of this mess. My advice is trust no one! Win the race and save yourselves!" Krew said before the will then ended and we all looked at each other and then at Rayne.

"Well... I'd hate to be the bearer of worse news when the leg's already been twisted... but we all agreed we wouldn't be having a single drink or taking a single bite of any of the food because of how much we distrust Krew," I said, Rayne gasping at that as we all then showed her our hidden flasks that we'd stored our wine in. "But since you happen to be a victim of Krew's jiggly evilness, I think we should take a vote. All in favor of helping Rayne get her antidote, say I," I said, nearly everyone in the group saying that word... minus Maria and Samos.

"Well, we only have two against it, so my daughter and Samos will sit this one out in the wings," I said as I then looked at Maria with a smile. "Besides, you're still a bit young to be placed in the driver's seat, sweetie," I smiled at her, Maria giggling at that as Jak then picked her up and put her on his back.

"We can do this. We can win this race and beat Krew at his own game!" Jak said, Rayne then smiling at us.

"My father has a garage filled with some of the finest racing cars available for the racing championship. And each of you has a racing car waiting," Rayne said, that making me a bit confused... but Tess was the one who spoke up before me.

"How did you know almost all of us would be getting a specific car?" Tess asked, Rayne frowning at that.

"Father expected you to say yes to the will... and now I know why," Rayne frowned.

"Listen, Rayne. You don't need to worry. We'll win that racing championship and prove to everyone that we're the best darn racers in the world! You can take that to the bank," I smiled.

"Okay, let's get you up-to-speed with the vehicles, then," Rayne said as we were then led to the garage and we saw a whole slew of awesome-looking cars, including one that looked like it was ready to be built from the ground up.

"Hey, Keira?" I said, getting her attention. "How about you go ahead and make this car here for Dax and Tess? I think it's high time that they prove that big things do indeed come from small packages," I smirked, Keira nodding at that.

"I know just how to design it, then," Keira smirked at me as she then proceeded to fix up the car while I got accustomed to my own vehicle, which was a heavy one that looked like it could be very fast.

"Ah, that's the Basher. It's a tough car with good speed. You'll need that toughness for the races, which are filled with combat and explosions," Rayne said, me being a bit worried at that.

"What happens if we happen to get blown up?" I asked.

"Then you'll be out of the race. But these cars are outfitted with very safe features... namely, if your car explodes, you'll be immediately teleported to the sidelines of the track you're competing on," Rayne said, me smirking at that.

"Risk and reward factors, eh? I'm all for that," I smiled.

"Well I hope you're ready, because starting tomorrow, the first race will be in Spargus City," Rayne said, that making me smirk.

"Maybe we can go ahead and say hi to your mom while we're there, Jak," I smirked, him nodding at that.

"Agreed," Jak smiled at me.


	44. Spargus Street Race

**Chapter 44  
**

After getting accustomed to our new vehicles, Rayne then signed all of us willing to race for Team Krew for the races, which is when we noticed that there were two other teams that would be competing. One was Team Mizo, who apparently were the ones that had those thugs chasing after us all the time, including the ones who tried to kill Daxter at the bar. And as for the other team? It was Team Osmo, who was made up of some of Daxter's old friends from when he was in the bug extermination business as well as Metal Fridgion and Metal Speetunc, who were both in human disguises.

Metal Fridgion looked like he was definitely from the frigid Icelands, as his human form was coated in thick layers of furry clothing and his head had a hood on it that concealed where his skull gem was. And as for Metal Speetunc, she was actually dressed in some more tomboyish clothing, not unlike Kiki, only she had brown skin, white hair, and she had some obvious scrapes and scars on her body that looked like burn marks.

Osmo himself was racing, who was actually a very old man that looked very nice, which Daxter attested to. And his son, Ximon, was almost like a cool older brother kind of character. And then there was Taryn, who was nonstop stone-cold serious for everything, though she was relieved to hear that Daxter was done chasing girls since getting married to and being loyal to Tess... who she was surprised to see in her furry form. Apparently Taryn was an old colleague of Tess, which made me smile.

We were then waiting in the wings in our own hotel suite in Kras, since our cars could actually go through special teleporters to arrive at the starting line in Spargus when it came time. And the television showed a very pompous blonde host that was the host of the Kras City Racing Championship.

"Helllloooo, race fans! This is GT Blitz coming to you live from Kras City with the start of the next season of the Kras City Racing Championship! Be ready to see some new faces racing off to see who will get all the marbles! So stay tuned for all the upcoming thrills, chills, and spills!" the guy said, me smirking at that name.

"GT Blitz is a bit of a big-headed numpty, in my honest opinion. He's always caring more about how popular he and his show is, not usually caring about the race contestants at all," said Rayne with an annoyed frown.

"I fear that this affair will end badly," Samos frowned. A wise man once said to watch out for those in front of you, but be wary of those behind," Samos said.

"What wise man said that?" Daxter asked.

"I did!" Samos exclaimed, Sasha laughing at that, as did Kiki.

"Look, none of us is happy about this, but we all want to help out an innocent person," Torn frowned.

"Agreed. Besides, it gives us an excuse to actually do something eventful for a change. It's been awhile since our last adventure," I said with a smirk.

"For once, I agree with you," Errol said, his frown on his face as usual. And then we were surprised when the guy on the television came into our wing.

"Hello there, competitors! I heard we'd gotten some fresh new rookies this year, so I had to come in and see them for myself," GT Blitz smiled at us with a floating camera next to him. "I hope you're made of better stuff than last year's racers. Go out to the race track and make the crowds scream! Fastest man... or woman, wins!" Blitz smiled while looking at Sasha and Rayne.

"Okay, I think that I'll compete in this first race," I smiled.

"Same with me," Sasha smirked.

"Don't forget us," Sammie and Minnie both said.

"And that should do it, then! Let's get the show on the road," Blitz smiled as we then proceeded to the garages and to the race track of Spargus, where we saw that we'd be racing in most of the newly-built portions of the city and that the road was mostly dirt, as expected. We then had the lights flash thrice before the green light, which I hit the gas the moment it turned green and I was surprised when I got a burst of turbo upon doing that as well as getting in the lead! I then looked at the weapons that were available for my car and saw that I had the ability to drop some oil slick behind me to make the other competitors get slippery tires. I then deployed it by the first turning area while I drifted, making a large stream of oil that got everyone into the skids behind me, including my teammates.

"Nice moves, Jak! Now to get rid of the competition," Minnie smiled as I then heard an explosion from behind me and saw that a driver from Mizo's team was trying to Plasmite grenades at me! I then decided to lay down a Red Eco trail of Arc Wielder lightning. And shortly after it connected with the driver's car, I saw it actually made it explode in an instant!

"Sweet! That's a Mizo driver out of the race! And now another one of 'em from me," Sasha smirked as I heard another explosion from behind ,e after I had gotten halfway through the race after making a single lap.

"Take that, Mizo driver! How about one for the double dames?" I heard Ximon ask through the communicators as I then heard another explosion while Sasha rushed past me with a smile on her face.

"Dammit! They got us, guys!" Minnie exclaimed in her radio as I actually then saw here from the sidelines in the area with the long straightway with a center divider. Sasha and I ran the rest of the race unopposed, but not before she let down a trail of fiery oil that actually caused Ximon and Taryn to explode while Osmo dodged it at the final bit, which made me smile.

"We have a winner!" Blitz smirked as I then got to the sidelines and got a gold medal as well as a ton of Precursor Orbs, which had actually become much more plentiful since the Precursors left the planet and more of them popped out of hiding. How many did I get as a reward? Upwards of 5 grand! "You saw it here, folks!... At least any of you who didn't die of boredom and switch to the bran channel! Our newbie racer lady has won her first big race... in lackluster fashion," Blitz said, Sasha frowning at that.

"Hah! If the crowd wants to see excitement, then I'll bring it to 'em by winning the whole shebang! Just you wait and see, Blitz boy!" Sasha smirked.

"Ooh, we get to see a bit of fire behind you today. Do tell, what is your name?" Blitz asked.

"Sasha Mar, happily married to Jak Mar and ready to kick some serious butt in this racing contest and prove to everyone that our team of racers are the best ever!" she smirked.

"Okay, you heard it hear first, folks! Now let's go down to Greaser in pit row!" Blitz smirked as he then turned the camera off and looked at us with a smile. "That's a wrap. Listen, I'm not getting too much smoke out of your friends, miss Sasha. Ratings were down 14 points in that last race. Not. Happening. If you want to compete with the big boys, you've gotta win more and you gotta win big! And maybe you can get some sweet rewards for your efforts. I hope to see good things out of you guys this year... if you're still around by the end of it," Blitz said, Sasha frowning as he then walked away and she looked at me.

"I don't like him," Sasha said bluntly.

"I don't like him either. He's mean," Sammie frowned.

"I think all of us can agree on that much. Let's go back and see what the next event is," I said with a smile.


	45. Dethdrome Qualifications

**Chapter 45**

Shortly after completing the first race, our group then completed a Death Race in the Loading Docks of Kras City as well as a Deathmatch in the Dirt Stadium. The former of these events was a contest to see how many drones you could destroy in a set time with the counter going up for each lap around the track as well as there being a combo meter so long as you killed a car within 3 seconds of another. And the Deathmatch was an arena fight where the last one standing was the winner. Tess won the Death Race for us while Torn was the winner of the Deathmatch, earning us a total of 3 gold medals in the process, worth 9 points for the season.

We then had a bit of downtime as I started to talk with Rayne. "Hey, Rayne? You think that Krew may have been bluffing about the poison?" I asked, her sighing at that as Ashelin then spoke.

"I had the bottle analyzed during downtime and we found traces of black nightshade at the bottom, a rare and poisonous plant from the Wasteland. Krew was planning to poison us alright," Ashelin frowned.

"Father never did cut corners... unfortunately," Rayne frowned, me smiling at that.

"Well, no worries, because once Kiki finishes the Freeze Rally in Spargus, we'll have enough for the first Grand Prix Qualifier for the Red Eco Cup," I smiled, everyone smirking at that.

"Yeah, I'm sure she'll do good, so long as she doesn't have to lay any eggs during the race," Tess said.

"Speaking of, Tess... question of the year... since you're a Precursor now, if you were to have kids with Daxter, would you lay an egg like the Precursor Stone?... Or what?" I asked, Tess looking a bit perplexed at that, as did Daxter.

"Um... you know what? I have no fluffin' clue," Tess said, her using her own censors around my kid, which I smiled at.

"Me neither, but we won't know until we try," Daxter smiled.

"So you're chickens? Cool!" Maria smirked, Daxter's eyebrow twitching at that and me smiling at my little innocent cinnamon roll.

"Remember, Daxter, she's only 5 years old," I smiled, Daxter nodding at that, though I could tell he was still a bit perturbed. And then, we got a visitor in the form of Kiki when she smiled as she held the gold medal around her neck with pride... as well as a single Metal Head egg, which Rayne gasped at.

"Um... can you possibly leave that egg somewhere else? Preferably in a place where my face won't get eaten?" Rayne asked.

"Don't worry, Rayne, my offspring are definitely safe, all guaranteed. Some of my kids are still in Haven City and being looked after by the older ones in my family," Kiki said, me smiling at that.

"Um... okay, then..." Rayne frowned as I then looked at the race for the GP Qualifier and I noticed that the name of the track sounded epic.

"Dethdrome, huh? Sounds intense!" Jak smiled.

"Yes, the Dethdrome is the speediest track in Kras City, where you can do a lot of boosting for a lot of speed," Rayne said.

"Then we'll need to bring some good racers for this one. I'll compete in this one," I said.

"Same with me," Keira smiled, Samos immediately getting defensive.

"Keira! You're not going to race, got it?!" Samos exclaimed, her frowning at him and getting sassy.

"Daddy, I'm racing so I can save my friend. Besides, I'm grown up now," Keira said, me smirking at that as Keira then got by my side with a smile on her face.

"Rgh... fine," Samos groaned as Tess then came next to fill out the roster.

"Alright, time to race," Tess smiled as we then got to our cars and proceeded out to the race via the warp gate, where we were right by the starting line and we saw that the others were still needing to arrive... and then GT Blitz arrived shortly after.

"Oh great, here comes Toothy McGrin himself," Tess said, me smirking at her.

"You have more in common with Daxter than I thought, Tess," I admitted to her as Blitz then got to us with the cameras aimed at us.

"Now you girls and your male teammates are finally going to see what I've been talking about! Speed, destruction, explosions, and death! You better not have eaten your breakfast this morning, or you'll find it all over your dresses later," Blitz smirked at us.

"Oh, please, pompadour. We've tangoed with Metal Kor, gigantic beasts from outer space, and we defeated an evil cyborg who also happened to be a Dark Eco Sage. We're not afraid of anything these bogeys can throw at us," I smirked.

"Ahaha! That's the kind of spunk the viewers are hoping to see! Behold! The Dethdrome, one of the fastest race tracks in the world! Many people have died on these dangerous lanes chasing a lifelong dream... make the crowd scream for me!" Blitz smirked at us as the camera then shut off and he smirked at us. "Good luck, ladies. You'll need it... more than I need ratings," Blitz said with a groan.

"Oh, don't worry your poofy hair over us ladies, GT. If anything, when they see us win the whole shebang, your ratings will be off the charts," I smirked while he walked away and the other racers finally showed up, which meant it was time for us to get into our vehicles. When the lights flashed green, I zoomed off the starting line with the extra boost and proceeded to immediately grab some Red Eco powers, as I was in the lead and didn't want missiles to destroy my vehicle early on. And sure enough, one of Mizo's lackeys tried to send some at me, which I laid down a turret gun to test his meddle and saw that it actually managed to destroy one of the Mizo drivers shortly after, me smirking at that.

"Hah! Take that!" I smirked as I then zoomed forward and came across a long turning area that had wide turns and a wide track, which wouldn't be much of help when I had an Arc Wielder trail as my next Red Eco power, so I waited until I was in a good enough position and I laid down the trail when I got to a much tighter and more steep circular turn, where I then laid it down in a way so that it covered the whole of the track, me smirking as I then saw the coupe de grace of my efforts. Every single one of the cars that were behind me except for Tess had gotten exploded after they collided with the electrical cloud, me smiling at that.

"BOOYAH! That was awesome, Sasha!" Tess smirked widely as it was then just me and her until the end of the race, with me getting first place, obviously, and netting us 3 more points with the gold medal, me then looking at our competition and me smirking at how Fridgion and Speetunc were there on the sidelines and smiling at me.

"That was good racing, ladies. But sorry to say, we're still in this event to win it, since there are other GP qualifiers and we already won one of 'em," Speetunc said with a cocky smile.

"I expected half as much," I smiled at them as we then returned back to the garage in Kras City and spoke to my allies, them smirking at me as I returned with the gold.

"That was a pretty awesome race, Sasha! You and Tess eliminated all the rest of the competition with ease!" Errol smirked at me.

"Yeah, but did I wish I could've been able to get to the end of the race myself. Those dang Mizo drivers peppered me with Vulcan Fury rounds until my car exploded," Keira pouted.

"Well, the good news is that we got in the next round... though something still doesn't add up about this whole ordeal with Krew. Why go through the effort of poisoning us so that we'll race for something? There's got to be something more to this story, but I don't know what," Sammie frowned.

"Yeah, and why poison his own daughter, on top of that?" Minnie sighed.

"We'll need to find that out at some point during these events. But for right now, we'll just keep doing races and keep winning them. What's next on the list?" Jak asked.

"Well, there's a Circuit Race at the Seaport Strip, an Artifact Race at the Clifftop Battlefield, and a Death Race in the Icebound Citadel. Since Keira's car will need some green eco repairs, that means we're going to need at least 7 drivers for these events," Rayne said.

"I think I can handle the Artifact Race. It sounds fun," I smiled.

"Same with me," Errol said.

"And me," Jak said with a smirk.

"As for the regular race, I think that Torn and I can handle it with Kiki," Ashelin said.

"And we can handle the Death Race in the citadel. Just watch us destroy those drones with ease!" Sammie smirked with Minnie giggling afterwards.

"Indeed," I smiled at them as we then went to the garages... only to come across someone that looked even more pompous than GT Blitz. Someone that Jak growled angrily at.

"Next time you and your thugs want a fight, how about pick on someone your own size?" Jak asked him, me being confused at that before Daxter nodded from his shoulder.

"Ah, I finally get to meet the great racers in Jak, Errol, and Sasha Nell," the pompous guy said, me noting that he was dressed in a very stylish red suit that made him look like he was quite wealthy, but he did smoke a cigar, which I wasn't a fan of.

"AND?" Daxter asked.

"And what?" he asked.

"What about me?"

"Ah yes, you're that loudmouth storyteller from the bar," the pompous guy said, me frowning at that.

"So you were the one that tried to kill Daxter?" I frowned angrily at him.

"Peh, he's not even worth bloodying my knife over. But you three? Jak, Errol, and Sasha? Your reputations precede you... oh, but I'm forgetting my manners. My name is Razer. Maybe you've heard of me? I work for Mizo... eventually everyone does," the pompous guy said, that name making me gasp.

"Razer? As in, one of the most ruthless assassins in the entire world? With more kills under his belt than any other assassin in Kras City? THAT Razer?" I gawked.

"Haha, yes, that's me. And it appears that your team is showing my boys up on the tracks out there, hm? Hahaha..." Razer smiled before he then growled at us. "Don't make me put on my gloves and show you how it's done! You wouldn't live long enough to see me cross the finish line," Razer said, me growling at him.

"You may have common people under your murder sheet, Razer, but our group has tangoed and killed a Metal Head Leader, destroyed an entire fleet of Dark Makers, and destroyed someone who was a Dark Eco Sage as well as a cyborg, who was able to control Metal Heads and robots alike. If anyone should be scared in this event... it's you," I said as I then poked him on the nose and he frowned at me.

"Oh, I'm sure we'll match up soon enough. Race of the century eh? Hm. And in the meantime, I suggest you watch your backs. I heard someone arranged a few surprises this time around," Razer said with a smile before then leaving the garage to the Mizo side of it, me frowning at that as I called up Rayne.

"Hey, Rayne?" I asked.

"Yes, what is it?" she asked.

"Make sure that, whenever we have to hit the sack, that every single entryway into our side of these living areas are sealed up tighter than my mouth when I eat a sour candy. I got a warning message from one of Mizo's lackeys to watch my back and I don't want anything bad to happen to us, ESPECIALLY Maria. Got it?" I said, Rayne smirking at that.

"Of course, that was the plan regardless. I don't trust Mizo's lackeys either," Rayne said honestly.

"Okay, ladies. Time to grab some artifacts and some more gold trinkets," I smirked.

"After you," Errol said to me, him smiling for a change.


	46. Dirty Robot Destruction

**Chapter 46**

After winning the next few races, all in first place, we managed to get a total of 24 points, which opened up some more venues for us to race at for different events. There was a Freeze Rally at the Forbidden Jungle, a Circuit Race at the Icebound Citadel, and a Turbo Dash event at the Mountaintop Highway.

"What's the requirements for the Turbo Dash event?" I asked with curiosity.

"A bunch of racers collect Power Cells around the track and then use their boosters in order to fire the cells off as a missile. The one who shoots the most Power Cells wins the gold medal, but be wary of getting hit by them, since each one will do a ton of damage to your car," Rayne said, me smirking at that... but before I could say I was going for it, some of my allies spoke.

"I think Ashelin, Torn and I can handle the Turbo Dash," Kiki smiled.

"Meanwhile, I'll do the Circuit Race with Errol and Sasha," Keira smirked.

"And I call dibs on the Freeze Rally in the jungle!" Tess smiled, me and Daxter feeling left out for this one.

"Okay, then I think we'll go ahead and get a meal at the bar," I said, Daxter smiling at that as I simply held my gun on my person, just in case I came across any unsavory patrons.

"I wanna come with you, daddy," Maria said with a smile, me smiling at that.

"Sure, we'll protect you while we're there," I smiled, holding her close to me as I then took our trio to the garage and then proceeded to the bar, which was called the Bloody Hook, us going in and getting some soda instead of beer as well as a couple of Yakow burgers to eat, which were Maria's favorite. And then we looked at the screen to see Blitz speaking again.

"Hello, race fanatics! Sadly, the network has decided in their infinitesimally small wisdom to add a co host to my show... I don't know who could possibly outshine yours truly, but please, give a lukewarm welcome to my new 'color' commentator as it were... mister, um... Pecker?" Blitz said as the screen then showed the co host... and it was the same Pecker we were friends with.

"Thank you, GT. And hello to all you peoples out there watching," Pecker said with a smile as Daxter simply gawked angrily. "The network has hired me on to save this anemic little show," Pecker smiled.

"AHAHAHAHA... Yes, well, welcome aboard.. Pecker!" Blitz said with animosity in his voice.

"THAT'S IT! Who's his agent?! Pecker always gets the sweet gigs in these adventures!" Daxter exclaimed in pure aggravated annoyance, Maria smirking at that.

"That birdie's funny," Maria smirked as Pecker then spoke again.

"My first assignment on this show is to report on the supposed 'super bet' on this year's big championship race. Sources say that a high-level underworld crime connection is involved. But sadly, my sources won't return calls. And are now missing! And are probably dead!... But, Pecker is not so easily swayed. I will uncover the truth and report my findings right here on our show, GT," Pecker said, me smirking at that.

"Sounds like the birdie is playing with fire," I smirked.

"Of course you will. And let me just say it is going to be SO GREAT working with you," Blitz said, again with animosity as Pecker then smiled.

"You too, Blitzman!" he smirked as he smacked Blitz on the back and the best thing ever happened. It revealed that Blitz's pompadour was actually a wig! "Oh, so sorry..." Pecker said afterwards.

"Why you little bird shi-! !" Blitz exclaimed as he then tried to choke Pecker and the cameras then cut off, me smirking at that.

"Okay, like him or not, that was priceless," I smirked at that, Daxter finally smiling afterwards.

"Fine, that was golden, I will admit," Daxter smiled afterwards. We then decided to go out of the bar and back to the hotel, where we ended up running into GT Blitz in the garage.

"Hello there, Jak! Getting some local color lately? You certainly need it, because you look positively pale onscreen," Blitz said, me smirking at him.

"Doing well," I frowned at him.

"I just wanted to tell you that you can get sweet rewards and gadgets for completing missions from the administration," Blitz smiled.

"What kind of rewards?" I asked.

"What kind of gadgets?" Daxter asked shortly after.

"Good stuff. For instance, there are some dirt forming robots that have gone out of control in the Dirt Stadium, so the administration is offering medal points and orbs for whoever can kill the most without getting blown up themselves. Go there and clear 'em all out and you can win a special upgrade to your car on top of that," Blitz smiled at me.

"Sounds fun," I smirked.

"Sounds cool!" Maria giggled.

"Sounds dangerous," Daxter frowned.

"It is, but the rewards are worth it. But be careful, we wouldn't want anything bad to happen to one of our star, up-and-coming racers," Blitz smiled, me smirking at him widely.

"Let's go and tell the others," I said as we then went to our room and I then signed myself up for the event at the Dirt Stadium that said Sport Hunt, the others looking at me in confusion.

"What's a Sport Hunt?" Sammie asked.

"That would be an event where you hunt down different wildlife or other things and kill them with your weapons in the arenas," Rayne explained.

"Then I think that I'll do that event with you two," Tess smiled at us.

"So Jak, me, and Tess are going to do the Sport Hunt. Has Keira finished my ride yet?" Daxter asked with a smile.

"The answer to that question is most certainly yes," Keira smirked from the entrance of our room with a smile. "You'll be quite impressed, Daxter. And I also did something similar to Tess's car," Keira smiled, all of us minus Maria going to the garage and seeing the fruits of the labor... and it honestly looked badass. Both of the cars looked exactly like Daxter and Tess's bodies with the front fenders being designed like their heads, Tess's car having a roof that was colored like her blonde hair, and bodies that looked exactly like they did, clothes and all.

"Sweet! These are perfect!" Tess smiled at her car happily as Daxter did the same with his.

"Time to go melt some robots," I smirked, all three of us darting towards the warp gate to head to the Dirt Stadium to see that there were a couple other contestants from Mizo's team and Osmo's in the event, all of us then starting as a buzzer went off and we then proceeded to go out and destroy a whole ton of different robots. I got the lead earlier after destroying two different robots with Mizo's drivers managing to get one a piece as I then saw that this particular event was one that was based on teams, as each side had three cars competing in it. Daxter and Tess managed to slay two different robots apiece while Osmo, Ximon, and Speetunc got 5 in total, them being quite good at this event. By the time the clock had 30 seconds left, our team and Osmo's were neck and neck with 20 robots killed each and Mizo's gang had only 7 total between their three goons.

"Only a few bogeys left until our next qualifier! Let's get 'em, son!" Osmo said happily as he then destroyed another robot with some rocket launchers and I did the same, but with Plasmite grenades. And after the thirty seconds were up, Tess got the final destroyed robot that put our team just two points above Osmo's with 33 kills and his having 31... and Mizo's group only had a measely 13 kills of three combined people.

"Oh yeah! That was awesome!" Daxter smirked as we got our first place medal and Osmo and his group smiled at us.

"I'm proud to be competing against good drivers this year. The last one was very dubious to win, since it was just me, my son, and Taryn going up against Mizo's drivers and them being outright dirty. But now that we have some added competition, I think one of our teams have a fighting chance this time!" Osmo smiled at me.

"Yeah, you bros are doing wicked cool at these events. But if you'll excuse us, we've got a date with a qualifying race. You should check it out," Ximon said with a smile as we then parted ways and went back to base, the others smirking at me and the rodents.

"Now we have the next event happening in half an hour, that being the second qualifying rounds for the Grand Prix. And this time, it's held on the streets right outside of our hotel. It's a three lap track rather than the 2 lap ones we're used to seeing and I've heard a very nasty rumor that someone is hiring top mercenary drivers to race us and getting bonuses for destroyed cars," Rayne said with a frown.

"And you can bet money that they'll try to play dirty and cheat at this thing, especially if there is a super bet with crime involved," Sasha said.

"Oh great, that's just what we need," Daxter frowned as our room door then opened up and we saw two people come through that we didn't want to see.

"Uh-oh, here's a rather large specimen now," Ashelin frowned as we saw that it was Razer alongside a very large and hulking KG robot, one that looked very advanced.

"Ah, you guys are getting high points for this season aren't you?" Razer asked, me frowning at him.

"This is a private party, Razer, please take your business elsewhere," Keira frowned at him.

"I just wanted to introduce Mizo's new racer. Meet UR-86, the deadliest driver on the planet... well, second to me of course. Even I have to watch out for this one," Razer chuckled as the robot then looked at Maria and then grabbed her by the head, me gasping at that as Maria screamed in pain.

"OW! OW! LET GO OF ME! DON'T MAKE ME GO DARK!" Maria exclaimed angrily, her referring to something she got from me and Sasha when she was conceived. UR-86 didn't listen and continued to shake her around as Razer chuckled.

"Oh, don't worry, this bucket of bolts loves living things... so he can make them dead! Hahahee!" Razer sneered as Maria then lost it and went out of control, her hair standing on end, her body going pure black and her grabbing UR-86 by the arm and doing the impossible. She ripped it off with her own two hands and then did the same for the other arm, Razer gawking in disbelief afterwards. "YOU! You just harmed a fellow racer, you bitch!" Razer exclaimed, me growling at him as I grabbed him by the neck and started to choke him.

"Don't swear like that in front of my kid, or you're the one that's going to get harmed next. Capiche?" I growled, Razer gasping and nodding afterwards as I stopped choking him and for me to see that Maria then destroyed the rest of UR-86 angrily. "And by the way, Maria isn't a fellow racer. She's too young to compete, so she's on the sidelines... and if you bozos do anything to hurt her, all of you are deader than that robot is," I said, Razer then gulping and then running for the hills when I went dark myself, him rushing out of the hotel dorm and everyone smiling at me.

"See, this is why I don't try to say anything rude to you guys anymore, especially with those feral sides of yours," Errol admitted to me.

"At least you know to be wary about us. But now that Mizo's lost a racer to a little girl, he's going to be royally pissed. So from now on, we sleep in shifts when we're staying here," Sammie said.

"Okay, then I'd say it's time for us to go to the next event and move one step closer to the Grand Prix of the Red Eco cup," Sasha said as we then agreed the ones to race would be Errol, Keira, and Torn.


End file.
